Averoyan Sandridge
Jacorey Owens
Jaumichael Hardy
Hamilton County prosecutors wasted no time arranging preliminary hearings before a judge after a 27-year-old father was accused of attempted first-degree murder and two young men were arrested in a drive-by shooting of a pregnant woman last week.
Authorities say Averoyan Sandridge jumped over a fence in the 2500 block of East Third Street and opened fire on the mother of his two children through a screen door at 11:42 p.m. on April 19. Instead, Sandridge wounded her new boyfriend, who caught a bullet in the hand as he shielded the youngest child, prosecutor Kristen Spires argued Tuesday before Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Clarence Shattuck. Spires called three witnesses, including the wounded boyfriend and the mother, who said Sandridge called her after the shooting to claim responsibility.
Jaumichael Hardy and Jacorey Owens face charges of attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment.
Prosecutor Cameron Williams argued that police officers noticed Hardy and Owens getting out of a silver Jeep - the same vehicle that witnesses saw leaving the 1500 block of Arlington Avenue after a pregnant woman was shot in the left thigh around 9:12 p.m. on April 18.
"There's got to be a driver and a shooter," Williams told the judge. "There's Mr. Hardy and Mr. Owens. I don't think it really makes a difference who the shooter is."
Sandridge, in addition to attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment charges, faces three counts of aggravated assault. After listening to testimony in both cases, Shattuck sent all of their charges to a grand jury.
Tuesday's quick prosecution followed a grisly month of violence. During one week alone, the city recorded 12 shootings. A 17-year-old was killed in a drive-by attack and at least 12 people were wounded, including two women who were shot and another who was cut. All three were pregnant.
Gunfire erupted in yards, homes, streets, grocery stores and from within a funeral procession for a man who'd already been shot and killed. Police said several shootings stemmed from April 10, when Robert Jackson III, a 22-year-old member of the Gangster Disciples, was killed while leaving the Sky Zoo nightclub.
Gangs never factored into the Sandridge case. But defense attorneys did question witnesses in the Hardy and Owens case about why they'd be targeted.
Witness James Calloway said he tattooed himself when he was young but "doesn't bang" anymore. The 33-year-old said he was talking to Sharia Reynolds, 24, as she sat in her maroon car that night.
"She just came to talk about life," he said. "She was going through the woods with her baby dad. I was going through things."
When a Chevrolet Impala and Jeep Patriot circled twice through the neighborhood, Calloway didn't think much of it. But on the third pass - when someone fired several rounds from the passenger window of both vehicles, when Calloway tried climbing into the maroon car to avoid being shot - he understood the severity of the situation.
Afterward, he noticed Reynolds was bleeding. He and his mother called 911 and waited for police.
Meanwhile, Chattanooga officer Jonathan Bradley heard on the scanner that several investigators had already swarmed Arlington Avenue. So he decided to turn down Union Street and search for both vehicles. Driving down the dark road, Bradley noticed a Chevy Impala stopped near a home with eight to 10 people on the porch. He then saw what appeared to be Hardy and Owens getting out of a parked Jeep Patriot.
"You can't say that Mr. Owens stepped out of the vehicle," attorney Mike Little said in defense of his client.
"That is correct," Bradley replied.
"What you're saying is that person had dark clothing," Little said.
"Correct."
Hardy and Owens said they'd been playing basketball and had been in possession of the Jeep since the afternoon, Bradley said. They acknowledged the .45-caliber pistol that officers found behind the driver's seat, but said nothing about the shooting. Officers also saw a 9mm pistol and several cases in plain view in the Impala, but they hadn't made an arrest of the driver as of Tuesday.
Investigator Taylor Walker said they had determined the vehicle was registered to Eric McCurdy Jr. Records show the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has open warrants out for the 21-year-old on gun and drug charges that he picked up in 2015.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347 with story ideas or tips. Follow on Twitter @zackpeterson918.