A Shelby jury on Tuesday found Santana Eaves II, previously identified in police reports as Santana Almont Eaves Jr., not guilty in the 2021 drive-by killing of 16-year-old Skyteria Poston, and he was released after spending more than four years behind bars. The verdict caps a long, high-profile case in Shelby and has stirred fresh questions from the defense about evidence and charging decisions, while local residents and the victim’s family are still wrestling with both the loss and the outcome.
Jurors returned the not-guilty verdict and Eaves walked free, with his lead attorney, Ronald Haynes Jr., telling reporters that the defense presented an alibi and argued the state blocked key evidence from being presented at trial. Haynes said multiple family members corroborated that Eaves was babysitting across town when the shooting happened, a point he said undercut the prosecution’s timeline, as reported by Shelby Star.
Case background
Poston, then 16, was shot and killed on Nov. 9, 2021, outside her home on Roberts Street in Shelby during what police described as a daytime drive-by shooting. The killing prompted a months-long investigation and a U.S. Marshals reward while authorities sought warrants in the case, as reported by WCCB.
Defense questions and other suspect
Haynes told jurors that at least three family members corroborated Eaves' alibi and that the state prevented some key evidence from being introduced at trial. He also said one of two other suspects identified shortly after the shooting is currently in custody at the Durham County Jail on a first-degree murder charge and urged Cleveland County prosecutors to review how cases are screened for trial, as detailed by Shelby Star.
Arrest and charges
Eaves was arrested in January 2022 after law enforcement located him on Biggers Lake Road and he was held in the county jail while prosecutors prepared the case. Early court coverage shows warrants charging him with first-degree murder and discharging a weapon into occupied property, and prosecutors had indicated they were building a case that could seek the death penalty, according to reporting by WBTV.
Community impact
Poston’s death left a deep wound for her family and neighbors, who held vigils and publicly pleaded for information in the months after the killing. The U.S. Marshals reward and continued media coverage reflected the community’s push for answers, as reported by WCCB.
The jury’s verdict closes this trial but does not erase the questions that remain for victims' loved ones or for local prosecutors about evidence and charging choices. Whether additional filings will be brought against others named in the investigation remains unclear.
