James Pocket Ledford

James “Pocket” Ledford was known locally as a friend and neighbor whose life was tied to Cleveland, Tennessee. Public records and court documents identify him as a 38‑year‑old man whose death on September 23, 2019, was later investigated by local authorities. Although formal obituary notices matching his name and the exact date of death were not located in the public obituary indexes reviewed, contemporary reporting and court records confirm his identity and the date on which he was lost.

Contemporary sources show James as a person who belonged to a community where relationships mattered: people who knew him used the nickname “Pocket,” which appears in multiple public references. He is referenced in legal and investigative records from Bradley County that describe the events surrounding his passing; those documents also show the care with which law enforcement and the courts later examined the circumstances. While the public record focuses largely on the investigation that followed, the records also make clear that James was a real person with friends and family in the Cleveland area.

Because there is no family-published obituary located that is explicitly matched to his name and the precise date of death, this remembrance emphasizes James’s humanity rather than the public record of the investigation. He is remembered here as an individual whose life intersected with the lives of others in Cleveland — by family ties, friendships, and the small daily connections that shape a neighborhood. Though public details are limited, the certainty that he mattered to people who called him “Pocket” is itself a testimony: a name used by others is a sign of relationship, familiarity, and place.

In remembering James, we hold to a simple truth: beyond headlines and legal filings was a person rooted in community. This page honors that presence and acknowledges the loss felt by those who knew him, while respecting the boundaries of the public record.