Authorities said the confrontation began in New Carlisle and ended with a 47-year-old Park Layne man fatally shot near a gas station.
CLARK COUNTY, OH — Two New Carlisle men have been charged with murder after authorities said a road rage dispute ended in the fatal shooting of a Park Layne man near a Clark County gas station.
Semaj D. Mack, 25, and Damian N. Debose, 29, were arrested in connection with the July 15 shooting that killed 47-year-old Luke Hollifield, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Both men were booked into the Clark County Jail and arraigned July 16. The charges are allegations, and the cases have not been resolved in court.
Deputies were called at about 3:20 p.m. to the area of Gerlaugh Road and South Dayton-Lakeview Road, also known as state Route 235. The shooting occurred near a Casey’s General Store at 3387 South Dayton-Lakeview Road.
When deputies arrived, they found Hollifield on the west side of the road with a gunshot wound to his upper chest. He was in a ditch near the roadway and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A woman who had been traveling in Hollifield’s vehicle was not injured.
Clark County Sheriff Christopher Clark said investigators determined that the shooting followed a road rage confrontation that began in New Carlisle. Authorities have not released a detailed account of what caused the dispute, how it developed or what happened immediately before the gunfire.
Multiple people called 911 after the shooting. One caller reported seeing a man standing before he suddenly fell backward. Investigators have not publicly identified which defendant is accused of firing the fatal shot or described the alleged actions of each man.
Authorities said an orange Jeep Renegade with an Iowa license plate left the area after the shooting and traveled south on state Route 235. Investigators used information from automated license-plate cameras to track the vehicle’s direction after it left the scene.
Dayton police later stopped the Jeep near Princeton Drive and Salem Avenue, about three hours after the shooting. Officers took Mack into custody during the stop. Clark County investigators later identified Debose as a second suspect, and he voluntarily surrendered to the Sheriff’s Office, authorities said.
Mack and Debose were each charged with murder. Publicly available reports did not provide additional details about the legal theory supporting the charges, whether either man had entered a plea or whether attorneys had been appointed to represent them.
The men were scheduled to return to court July 20 for a bond hearing. The Sheriff’s Office continued investigating the circumstances of the shooting, including the events leading to the confrontation and the roles authorities allege each defendant played.
Author note: Last updated July 19, 2026.