Police charge man with homicide in this year's 21st killing in Chattanooga

Adrian Darnell Nixon
Adrian Darnell Nixon
photo Jeremy Clark
photo Adrian Darnell Nixon

Police used surveillance footage, shell casings and witness statements to tie a 29-year-old man to the shooting death of 28-year-old Jeremy Clark, records show.

Adrian Nixon was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal homicide in Clark's death. Clark was shot five times in the head and torso outside JJ's Lounge on Glass Street around 1 a.m. Friday.

Witnesses told police the shots came from a white Dodge Challenger. Surveillance footage shows a Challenger pulling around the building and stopping, mostly out of the camera's view, shortly before shots were fired, records show.

Witnesses said Clark approached the Challenger and spoke with whoever was inside, and then the person inside the vehicle fired several times and killed Clark. He was shot once in the head and four times in the upper chest, according to the medical examiner's report.

Investigators discovered that Nixon often drives his girlfriend's white Dodge Challenger and brought the man in for questioning.

During that interview, Nixon admitted he was driving the Challenger at the time Clark was killed, but claimed that an unknown person came up to the Challenger's passenger side, reached into the vehicle and fired across the vehicle at Clark, who was standing by the driver's side.

However, multiple witnesses told police that no one approached the vehicle and that Nixon was alone in the car. Investigators also found shell casings on the ground just outside of the spot where Nixon's driver's side door was.

Nixon was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Clark, a known Gangster Disciple, was the brother of Dennis Clark, a Democrat who is running for the Tennessee House District 28 seat. Dennis Clark did not respond to a request for comment from the Times Free Press, but did hold a news conference in which he said he was launching a new initiative to "boldly address the issues plaguing African American communities." He urged citizens to vote in today's election.

"I never imagined that while I was campaigning for safer streets and stronger neighborhoods, I would be standing before you with heavy heart, planning a funeral for my dear brother," he said.

He did not offer any detail about any concrete actions the initiative would take.

Police have not said whether Jeremy Clark's gang affiliation played a role in his death. Lt. Glenn Scruggs said Wednesday that he could not discuss any motive for the slaying.

Clark was the 21st person to be killed in Chattanooga so far in 2016. Police have arrested suspects in only six of the year's homicides. In two cases, the shooter was identified but not charged. The remaining 13 homicide cases are unsolved.

Scruggs said the witness statements and physical evidence helped police quickly identify a suspect in Clark's death.

"This one came together a little bit faster than others," Scruggs said. "But each one of those cases that are open are in different stages of being solved. And we're working to get them all solved. This just happened to occur with witnesses present, with physical evidence recovered, so it helped speed up the process."

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com. Follow @ShellyBradbury.

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