District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced that 33 year old Darius Kadenhead of Buffalo, New York was indicted by a Grand Jury and arraigned yesterday, July 16th, in Chautauqua County Court on a charge of Murder in the Second Degree arising from the shooting death of Marlon Clay which occurred on January 22nd at the Parkview Apartments in Jamestown. Bail was set by Hon. David W. Foley at $2.5 million cash, or in the alternative, $5 million property bond or $10 million secured by the posting of 10%.
According to DA Schmidt, “Mr. Clay sustained a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. His body was later discovered by a tenant in the apartment complex who alerted police. What followed was an immediate, intensive investigation by members of Jamestown Police Department, the Chautauqua County Forensics Investigation Team and District Attorney’s Office, leading to the identification and apprehension of Mr. Kadenhead in Buffalo, New York three days later, on January 25th. Mr. Kadenhead’s apprehension was led by our own Jamestown Detectives who, themselves, traveled into the City of Buffalo to make contact with Mr. Kadenhead in coordination with Buffalo PD and the FBI.
“The manner of his death suggests that Mr. Clay was executed. At the time Mr. Kadenhead is alleged to have committed this brutal, irreversible act, he had been on parole for only four months after having been released from state prison for a prior Manslaughter conviction. When Jamestown Detectives approached Mr. Kadenhead, he was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and was then taken into custody on a parole violation and new weapon charge which is currently prosecuted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office in consultation with me and my office. Taking Mr. Kadenhead off the street on those charges satisfied our public safety concerns, which are always our number one priority when investigating violent crimes, and gave us the time needed to continue our efforts to develop evidence which we eventually presented to a Grand Jury. The resulting secret indictment was then unsealed yesterday at the time of Mr. Kadenhead’s arraignment, allowing us to now apprise the community of these developments.
“Mr. Clay’s death was our first homicide of 2024. Within the next three months, before we even closed out the month of April, a total of five confirmed homicides occurred in our relatively small community. This is more than the number of homicides which occurred in the City of Boston, Massachusetts through June, if you can believe that. In any event, obtaining and arraigning the defendant on our indictment is just the first stage of a lengthy legal process which would not have gotten off the ground without the perseverance and dedication of Jamestown police which led the investigation. We owe each of those officers and all of police our gratitude and support for the difficult, mentally and physically challenging work they undertake each and every day.
“At this point in the process we are completing our discovery compliance work and preparing for defense challenges. We are due back in Court on August 5th for a discovery compliance conference. Given our busy trial schedule and the litigation on this case which lies ahead, I do not expect a trial date before the end of the year. We will be ready when that time comes.”
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