As the Roanoke Rapids Police Department continues to investigate the Tuesday morning shooting death of a Chesapeake, Virginia teen, Chief Shane Guyant said today witnesses in the 200 block of Madison Street where the slaying occurred continue to be uncooperative.

“Individuals at the scene have provided us misleading and false information,” he said. “For the integrity of the investigation I cannot get into the content of this information.”

He said, however, “This erroneous information has stalled us and delayed us in seeking information that could give closure to this case. We are exploring how to address this, but the most important thing is finding the person or persons that have committed this crime.”

Said the chief: “To start this process we need truthful and accurate information.  We continue to ask the public to contact Crime Stoppers with information. Again, this is an anonymous process and people can get paid for their information.”

Guyant declined to get into specifics of the case this morning after submitting a brief statement to media saying the police department continues to actively investigate the shooting death of Jamari Dejon Haskins, 18, which occurred after midnight at 224 Madison Street. “At this time I must withhold the technical pieces to protect the integrity of this investigation,” he said in response to follow-up questions to his statement.

In a statement Tuesday morning Guyant said officers responded to the area shortly after midnight upon receiving a shooting call at a residence and noticed several individuals at the residence including the deceased.  

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444 or through its website