Suspect was on probation when Warren mailman was murdered

Thomas Sledge (L) Kaprise Sledge (R)

One of the suspects in the March murder of Warren letter carrier Jonte Davis was on probation for a federal crime at the time of the shooting.

According to court records, 44-year-old Thomas Sledge of Youngstown was on federal supervised release on March 2, when Davis was fatally shot at Scott St. NE and Olive Avenue NE in Warren.

Sledge had been released from prison the previous December but was still on probation for three years as part of a 2020 sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin.

In July, six months after Davis was gunned down, Sledge was placed under nightly GPS-monitored house arrest for an unspecified probation violation.

Thomas Sledge and 24-year-old Kaprise Sledge of Warren have each pleaded “not guilty” last week to one count each of murder of an officer and employee of the United States, as well as one count each of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Judge Donald Nugent set a trial date of December 9 and ordered that both men should remain in federal custody.

If convicted, the two suspects could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.