Greensboro man faces murder charge in Willard Street killing

Christian Deshaun Slade, 25, had already cycled through Guilford County court records 11 times, including charges for battery of an unborn child and assault on a female, before Greensboro police tied him to Darren Blacknall’s killing on Willard Street. Court records show only one of those earlier cases ended in probation, and that sentence was later violated.

Police charged Slade on May 27 with first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in Blacknall’s death, but the homicide investigation moved forward only after an unrelated arrest put him back in custody. Slade was already being held at the Guilford County Jail on felony charges from a separate April 22 incident in the 3300 block of Gar Place when homicide warrants were served.

Blacknall was killed on April 21 in Greensboro. Officers responded at about 4:28 a.m. to Willard Street and found him inside a home with at least one gunshot wound. Guilford County EMS pronounced him dead at the scene, turning an early-morning call into a death case that would not be solved until a second arrest opened a path for detectives.

The earlier Gar Place case has become central to the timeline. Police said a shots-fired call led officers to arrest Slade on April 23, and that case brought charges including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharge of a firearm into occupied property, three counts of assault on emergency or medical personnel, breaking or entering a motor vehicle, two counts of assault on a government official, discharge of a firearm in city limits and injury to personal property. Investigators said Slade assaulted medical staff and two officers after grabbing pepper spray from an officer’s uniform and using it against them.

Greensboro police said homicide detectives, forensic specialists and the department’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center worked together to identify Slade as a suspect. Assistant Chief Ric Alston called it “exceptional police work and collaboration” and said the case showed one investigation leading to another. Police also said Blacknall’s next of kin were notified after the arrest.