MARTINSVILLE — After a five-day manhunt involving local, multistate and federal authorities, 24-year-old murder suspect Levi Camplin was captured by U.S. Marshals in Lee County, Va., last Thursday.
Camplin was the alleged shooter in the death of 48-year-old Jimmy Adams in the late evening hours of Saturday, Aug. 29, at a mobile home park on the northwest side of Martinsville.
In what authorities describe as a “verbal dispute that escalated,” Adams and his girlfriend were allegedly shot by Camplin just before midnight Aug. 29 at Carmel Apple Court off North Park Avenue. Adams’ girlfriend, 35-year-old Leandra Martin, was also shot in the hand during the incident but survived.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, “the successful apprehension was the direct result of coordinated intelligence and operational support” between multiple local, state and federal agencies, including those in Indiana and Virginia, along with U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
During Camplin’s arrest, authorities also took Morgan County resident Karrah Leigh Garrett, 37, into custody. Garrett — whose most recent verified address was on Brandywine Lane near the Wilbur area — was charged with possession of narcotics and possession of a concealed weapon.
Both Camplin and Garrett were transported to the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Duffield, Va., where Camplin awaits extradition proceedings.
Upon his capture, Martinsville Police Chief Ryan Manley expressed his gratitude to his co-workers and colleagues in law enforcement as well as the community for its assistance.
“An operation of this magnitude requires seamless collaboration across local, state, and federal boundaries,” he said in a statement. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, our dedicated Martinsville Police Department Detectives, and the Major Crimes Task Force for their relentless, around-the-clock work on this investigation.
“I’d also like to extend our sincere thanks to our law enforcement partners at the Indiana State Police and the United States Marshals Service for their vital resources and support. Furthermore, I want to recognize our own officers and civilian staff, whose behind-the-scenes work kept this investigation moving forward without missing a beat.
“I also want to extend our gratitude to our community. Without your patience, vigilance, assistance and active cooperation, bringing this case to a swift resolution would have been far more difficult. Your trust and willingness to step up made all the difference.
“Martinsville is our community and our home. We will not tolerate this type of violence in our city. Moving forward, we will continue to be aggressive in our enforcement, and we will hold anyone remotely involved in this crime fully accountable.”
This investigation into the Aug. 29 incident is still ongoing, and Morgan County Prosecutors Office is now tasked with bringing formal charges against Camplin.
