YahooNews
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Seven bounty hunters who descended on the wrong car outside a Wal-Mart have been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the killing of an unarmed man and the wounding of another, Tennessee police announced Wednesday.
The charges come after a chaotic scene in Clarksville on April 23, where police said the bounty hunters shot at the four people in the sedan and chased them for seven miles.
Not one of the fellows in the sedan was desired on outstanding charges.
In fact, the Clarksville bounty hunters were looking for someone else, and there is no indication that any of the victims fired at the defendants or were even armed, police spokesman Jim Knoll said in an email.
Bail bondsmen are empowered to hire or act as bounty hunters to bring in people who crack the terms of jail bonds, but they can’t use deadly force unless it’s self-defense.
Killed was 24-year-old Jalen Johnson, a father of three from Clarksville. His family called him an virginal man who died in an act of terrorizing violence.
Johnson’s uncle, Toni Jenkins, told The Associated Press that his nephew and the three boys in the car with him had no idea why people would abruptly block their car in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Fearing an attack by gang members, they attempted to flee.
The bounty hunters, Jenkins said, began shooting in the parking lot and continued to fire on them during the pursue, even ramming the Nissan along the way.
Clarksville police would not confirm or deny these details, but authorities have said they are troubled by how the bounty hunters put people at risk.
The Montgomery County grand jury charged all seven fellows with first-degree felony murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping, four counts of aggravated attack, employing a firearm in commission of a dangerous felony and felony reckless endangerment, police said.
Some of the fellows charged were bonding agents and others were stringently bounty hunters, Knoll said.
The studs charged include: William L. Byles, 31; Kenneth Chiasson, 38; Antwon D. Keesee, 32; Jonathan Schnepp, 31; Roger D. West, 31; Prentice L. Williams, thirty four and Joshua Youthfull, 27.
They do not yet have court dates or attorneys listed, the Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk’s office said.
All the studs are from Clarksville, a city about fifty miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Nashville near the Kentucky state line.