Garner: Search warrants name a second suspect in 2004 Hall Boulevard death; no one charged

Search warrants filed Oct. 1 by a Garner Police Department detective name a second person as a suspect in the 2004 death of 16-year-old Joshua Matthew Davis on Hall Boulevard, according to papers CBS 17 obtained.

No one has been charged in the death. Being named in a search warrant is not a charge and does not mean a person is guilty. Everyone named in the investigation is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. We are not naming the uncharged people the warrants identify.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation still lists Davis's death as an unsolved homicide.

What the new warrants say

CBS 17 reported that it obtained the Oct. 1 warrants. According to the station's account of those papers:

• Davis died on Jan. 6, 2004, from blunt force trauma to the head, possibly from a bat.
• The newly named person is described as a close friend of another suspect, called Suspect 1 in the latest filing.
• After a Sept. 28 State Highway Patrol chase, the newly named person's phone was collected. A judge later approved a search. The warrant says the phone held conversations about Davis's killing and internet searches relevant to the case.

FOX 8, publishing the same WNCN reporting, quoted a line from the warrant that one suspect, referred to as Suspect 1, "was believed to have been a romantic rival of Joshua Davis."

Those are allegations in search-warrant papers. They have not been proven in court. The warrants do not charge anyone with Davis's death. Police have not said when, or whether, charges will be filed.

Background

The NCSBI's public case page says that on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004, Davis and his cousin were walking in a Garner neighborhood toward Davis's house. The cousin stepped away briefly. When he came back a few minutes later, Davis was bleeding and lying on the side of Hall Boulevard. He was taken to Wake Medical Center and died.

WRAL, citing Garner police, has described the other person with Davis that night as a friend and said they had left Davis's mother's house around 7 p.m., walking toward his father's home in the same neighborhood. We are reporting both descriptions.

Investigators first treated the death as a hit-and-run. WRAL, citing investigators, says that in 2007 they concluded Davis was hit by a car. Officials later reopened the file as a homicide. WRAL reported that a Garner police Facebook notice in early 2026 classified the case as a homicide. The NCSBI page now files it under unsolved homicides.

In a statement quoted by WRAL in April, the NCSBI said it "is assisting the Garner Police Department with information concerning a 2004 cold case" and was "actively investigating new leads."

Earlier warrants this year named a Four Oaks police officer as a suspect. CBS 17, WRAL, The News & Observer and JoCo Report have described those papers. The News & Observer did not name the officer because the officer had not been charged. We are following that approach. Four Oaks police told WRAL on April 20 that the officer was a person of interest and had been placed on administrative leave. JoCo Report, citing a July 6 Garner police warrant, said the officer later remained on unpaid leave. The officer has not been charged in Davis's death.

We are not using exact house numbers that appear in some of those earlier warrant accounts.

Timeline

• Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004, evening: Joshua Matthew Davis, 16, is found on Hall Boulevard in Garner and later dies, the NCSBI says.
• 2007: Investigators conclude he was hit by a car, WRAL reports.
• 2025–early 2026: Garner police and the NCSBI reopen the case as a homicide investigation, according to warrants and the SBI statement reported by WRAL and others.
• March 31, 2026: The NCSBI searches a home connected to the earlier suspect and seizes electronics, according to warrants reported by WRAL and The News & Observer.
• April 20, 2026: Four Oaks police confirm that officer is a person of interest and on leave, WRAL reports.
• July 2026: New Garner police warrants again name the Four Oaks officer as a suspect. The officer is not charged.
• Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2026: A Garner detective files search warrants that, CBS 17 reported on Oct. 8, identify a new suspect. No charges are filed in the death.

What happens next

The investigation remains open. Garner police and the NCSBI have not announced arrests or a charging decision.

Anyone with information can contact the Garner Police Department or the NCSBI. The NCSBI's Davis case page lists (919) 773-6070 for Garner police and (800) 334-3000 for the SBI. The Town of Garner's police contact page lists Police Administration at 919-772-8810. The NCSBI contact page lists 1-888-624-7222. Tips may be made anonymously. Do not approach anyone you think is involved.

We will update this story if police, the courts or the SBI release more. This story is not an official or emergency notice. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.