With so many teen shooting deaths this year, some cases are unsolved. Here's the latest.
Months after a string of separate shootings left six Austin-East Magnet High School students and two other Knoxville teens dead, four of those eight cases remain unsolved.
The deaths sent shockwaves through the community as families mourned, one after the other.
Scott Erland, Knoxville Police Department spokesperson, told Knox News progress is being made, even if it's not always visible, as investigators continue to work to gather evidence.
"We recognize that people want answers and the victims deserve justice, and we want those things as well. These types of cases take time, thoroughness and persistence. Investigators are working carefully and diligently to get the answers and justice that we all want," Erland said.
"We also know that there are people out there with information that could potentially assist in those investigations, and we would urge those individuals to submit that information to Crime Stoppers," he added. Anyone with information on a crime can anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165 or submit a tip at easttnvalleycrimestoppers.org.
Stacey Payne, a Crime Stoppers spokesperson who was temporarily filling in for KPD on some communications requests, told Knox News that one lead investigator is assigned each case, but there are 14 other investigators at their disposal at any given time. They can also reach out to other investigative units within the police department if the need arises..
Specifically, Payne said, in the unsolved fatal shootings of students Janaria Muhammad, Jamarion Gillette, Johnkelian Mathis and Junior Santiago, there is no way to determine the number of hours spent on each investigation.
"Generally speaking, homicide cases take a great deal of time and resources in order to ensure a solid case. It sometimes is best to slow down and continue to gather all relevant information and evidence that may not be readily available," Payne said.
"Each investigator works a minimum of 40 hours each week; however, working minimum hours rarely occurs in this unit. Each case is different in the number of hours spent," Payne said.
This year, there have been 39 confirmed homicides within Knoxville city limits, not including two deaths where police shot people, Erland said. Nineteen of those remain open investigations with no arrests made. Those figures already are above the 2020 total, which at the time was a record in recent years.
Here's where things stand in the fatal shootings of Knoxville teens in 2021.
Justin Taylor
Justin Taylor, 15, died after being shot in the back on the night of Jan. 27. Knoxville police quickly arrested another teenager in connection to Taylor's death.
Knox News is not naming the arrested teen because he was 17 at the time of the crime, and court records indicate he did not intend to shoot Taylor.
The teen was transferred from juvenile court to adult court, where he quietly pleaded guilty in March to one count of reckless homicide and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon. Records show the teen bought the gun for $400 even though, as a 17-year-old, it was illegal for him to own one in Tennessee.
According to court records, the teen was sitting in the back seat of a car and had taken the magazine out of the gun. He was pulling on the slide of the gun when his finger hit the trigger. A bullet in the chamber fired, hitting Taylor, who was sitting in the front seat.
The teen, who's now 18, pleaded guilty and received four years of supervised probation in April. He is on judicial diversion, meaning his record will be wiped clean if he successfully completes his probation.
Stanley Freeman Jr.
Stanley Freeman Jr., 16, was driving home from Austin-East on Feb. 12 when two teenage boys fired a gun at his car from another vehicle, police say. After being struck, he crashed onto Wilson Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were arrested by Knoxville police after the shooting. On March 15, prosecutors charged the two with first-degree murder in Freeman's death. The suspects are now 15 and 17 years old.
Additionally, the teens face attempted murder charges for two nonfatal shootings, according to court records. A teenager prosecutors say was targeted in one of those shootings on Jan. 14 incident was Johnkelian "John John" Mathis, who escaped injury but was later killed in a separate shooting in early August in Lonsdale. Prosecutors revealed the teens' connection to Mathis' shooting during a juvenile court hearing this month.
The teens recently were in court to determine whether there was enough evidence to continue a first-degree murder case in Freeman's death and attempted murder in the Jan. 14 shooting. The judge decided there was enough evidence.
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The teens are being held at the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center in Knoxville. Prosecutors are seeking to have them transferred from juvenile court to adult court, pending mental evaluations. The difference could mean decades of prison time for the teens if they're convicted of first-degree murder as adults.
Knox News is not naming the two teenagers because it typically does not identify juveniles accused of crimes.
Janaria Muhammad
Fifteen-year-old Janaria Muhammad was found shot and severely bleeding by her father outside of the family's Selma Avenue home on Feb. 16. She died at the hospital.
Muhammad's family members have previously said they believed police had identified two persons of interest.
Police have not provided much information about how the shooting happened or why. A motive has not been revealed, no arrests have been made and no suspects been identified publicly.
The Knoxville Police Department declined to share any new details on the investigation.
Jamarion Gilette
Jamarion Gillette, 15, was found suffering from a gunshot wound on the road leading to the University of Tennessee Medical Center on the night of March 9. After being taken to the hospital, Gillette died of his injuries.
There have been no arrests made, no suspects identified and no motives offered by Knoxville police.
Police have not revealed the location of the shooting.
Anthony Thompson Jr.
On the morning of April 12, Knoxville police fatally shot Anthony Thompson Jr., a 17-year-old junior, in the bathroom of Austin-East. When officers went to the school to arrest the teen on a charge of domestic assault, they found him in the bathroom with a gun.
Charme Allen, the district attorney for Knox County, presented evidence from the police body cameras at a press conference on April 21. Her conclusion was that the shooting was legally justified, and none of the four officers involved were charged criminally.
A 21-year-old man named Kelvon Foster was arrested in connection with the incident on May 14. He's accused of lying to buy a Glock 45 handgun for Thompson, then giving it to the teen for some cash and a bag of weed. Thompson had the gun in his hoodie pocket when police entered the bathroom.
Foster is scheduled to appear in Knox County Court on Dec. 16.
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Payne said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. Once the TBI finishes its investigation, it will pass its findings to KPD's Internal Affairs Unit, which will produce a summary report on the findings.
"TBI will not make any recommendations in their report. They will report the facts/findings and then leave it to the district attorney to decide how to proceed on her end and the chief on her end," Payne wrote in an email to Knox News. "KPD’s (Internal Affairs Unit) will read TBI’s report and write a summary based on what is in their report and submit it to the chief for review, again no recommendation is made. The job of both TBI and IAU is to report the facts, not make recommendations."
Johnkelian Mathis
Johnkelian "Jon Jon' Mathis," 17, was killed and two other people were wounded on Aug. 8 in an overnight shooting at the Lonsdale neighborhood. He was due to start his senior year at Austin-East the next day.
The Knoxville Police Department responded at about 1 a.m. to the area of Minnesota Avenue and Pascal Avenue after receiving a report of a shooting with multiple victims.
According to the news release, three victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
To date, no information has been released about a potential suspect or motive. No arrests have been announced.
Unidentified 17-year-old
On Sept. 8, an unnamed teen was shot to death on Stone Road in South Knoxville and later died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Two days later, a 17-year-old turned himself in and was taken into custody on juvenile charges of aggravated assault and minor possession of a handgun, police said. He remains in custody.
Police did not name the teen who died or the suspect in custody.
No additional information has been released to date on this case.
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Junior Santiago
Junior Santiago, an 18-year-old at Fulton High School, died Oct. 25 after he was shot during an attempted robbery. He was found in an overturned car on Cansler Avenue.
He was pronounced dead at the scene just after 9 p.m. in the Mechanicsville neighborhood, according to a Knoxville Police Department news release.
Police arrested two 15-year-old teens shortly after the shooting after investigators identified them as suspects. Both have been placed in the Juvenile Detention Center on weapons charges with additional charges expected to be filed, according to the news release.
The identity of the suspects haven't been released.
Knoxville police have not released any new information in the case.
Angela Dennis covers issues at the intersection of race and equity through both contemporary and historical lenses.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where the investigations stand in Knoxville teen shooting deaths
