Police: Springfield double slaying tied to drug deal; suspect found via ankle GPS

Coley was arrested Tuesday with SWAT team assistance in the 1800 block of Clay Street, on the south side of Springfield near John Street, according to police.

The shooting happened Sunday after 10 p.m. in the 2100 block of Larch Street. Police found two men on the porch of a house with gunshot wounds.

Sgt. James Byron said at a Tuesday press conference the shooting may have happened during an aggravated burglary or robbery, and there was an “exchange of gunfire,” though he would not specify between whom.

Clifton James Cummings, 35, was pronounced dead on the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. The second man, Spencer Sharp, 30, was transported to the hospital, where he died.

Byron said Tuesday that Sharp was the owner of the home and there was a toddler inside who was unharmed. The house is on the east side of Springfield, off North Belmont Avenue, a few blocks from Lagonda.

New details

According to a probable cause affidavit from police, Coley and Cummings were involved in a drug deal with Sharp, and after entering his house, one of the men shot him in the course of a robbery.

Video surveillance from the house showed Coley enter with Cummings, who was wearing a ski mask and holding a handgun, according to the affidavit. There was an exchange of gunfire and Cummings was shot and died at the scene. Sharp was also shot and died after being transported to the hospital.

According to the affidavit, Coley was on parole and wearing an ankle monitor, with GPS records indicating his presence at the home during the robbery. Coley allegedly told police once arrested that he went to the home to buy marijuana but did not know there would be a robbery.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Springfield Police at 937-324-7716.

The shooting brings Springfield’s 2025 homicide total to three, while 2024’s total for the full year was six.

“It’s a little ahead of what we would like it to be, sure; we don’t want any of these,” Byron said Tuesday. “We want justice for the families of these ... when we investigate these to the fullest to bring that justice.”