Frances Smith
Site of fatal Alton Park shooting.
Cashman PerkinsThe suspect in Sunday morning's shooting death of a beloved Alton Park woman was in court on gun charges just five days before police suspect he pulled the trigger.
Police said Monday they are seeking 31-year-old Cashman Perkins in connection with the slaying of Frances "Prin Prin" Smith, who died from gunshot wounds to the chest around 5 a.m. Sunday at her home on Woodland View Circle.
Neighbors and friends in the Emma Wheeler Homes neighborhood described Perkins, or "Cash," as Smith's live-in boyfriend and speculated on Sunday that he may have been involved in her death.
Hundreds visited Smith's home on Sunday as they grieved the loss of the 40-year-old mother of five grown children.
Perkins already was facing a charge of carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to go armed that was bound to a grand jury from a Hamilton County courtroom on June 3. That case stems from a Nov. 21, 2013 incident in which police found a Bersa Thunder 360 handgun stuffed in Perkins' pants during a traffic stop in East Chattanooga.
In that incident police also found marijuana on Perkins.
On Feb. 14, Perkins was charged with criminal trespassing.
The shooting is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Chattanooga police at 423-698-2525.
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.