East Ridge man was killed in robbery gone wrong, police say

Tabitha Garrison

East Ridge police believe 21-year-old Reginald Ballard was shot to death in a robbery gone wrong, according to court records.

Ballard was shot twice in the Cascades Motel on Feb. 19.

Police believe the suspects - Kyhree Thompson, 20, Tabitha Garrison, 22, and Verronta Page, 19, - shot Ballard after he resisted when they tried to rob him, court records show.

All three are charged with murder, possession of a firearm during a felony and tampering with evidence.

Police found communications between Ballard and Garrison on Ballard's cell phone, according to her affidavit.

The communications discussed gang affiliations and talked about Ballard picking Garrison up from her house and bringing her to a room at the motel where he was later found dead.

After motel employees found Ballard's body, police discovered a latent handprint at the scene that they positively identified as Thompson's.

Garrison and Thompson are from Dayton, Tenn., while Page is from Pikeville. All three were arrested last week in their various districts and will be transferred to the Hamilton County Jail.

Read tomorrow's Times Free Press for complete details on this story.