Charles L. MeltonA Hamilton County judge Tuesday dismissed the charges against a 17-year-old who police say was involved in a January drive-by shooting.
After a lengthy preliminary hearing in General Sessions Court, Judge Gary Starnes was "forced to conclude" that prosecutors couldn't present enough evidence to link Montrell Franklin to the vehicle involved in the Jan. 12 shooting.
He dismissed the charges against Franklin, which include attempted-first degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment felony and possession of a firearm during an attempt to commit a felony.
Prosecutors said Franklin fired multiple shots at a 16-year-old as he walked down the 1000 block of North Hickory Street with a friend. The victim, who will not be identified by the Times Free Press, showed up to Erlanger hospital around 8:30 p.m. with a single non-life-threatening wound, police said. In court Tuesday, he rolled up his sleeve, showing prosecutors the 8-inch trail of stitches on his left arm.
Prosecutor Lance Pope called Jared Hamilton, a homicide unit investigator for the Chattanooga Police Department, who said he visited the victim on the night of the shooting. Before going into surgery, the victim said he knew the driver's alias, Hamilton said.
Hamilton said he took that alias - Spank - and asked a sergeant if he recognized it. When the name Charles Melton came back, Hamilton said, police took out warrants two hours later.
Franklin's attorney, Brian Pearce, objected to Hamilton's testimony, saying it was hearsay for the detective to introduce evidence given to him by someone else. Pope countered it was part of the investigation and therefore admissible under Tennessee rules of evidence. Starnes noted Pearce's objection but allowed Pope to continue his questioning.
During the hearing, Melton, 19, and Franklin stood a few feet away from the victim. But during his cross-examination, the 16-year-old changed his original statement to police in which he identified Melton as a suspect.
"Do you recall telling him [Hamilton] that Spank was the one driving the car?" Pope asked the victim.
"No," the victim said.
"And then do you remember him [Hamilton] coming to you and showing you a driver's license of Charles Melton and saying that was Spank?" Pope asked.
"No sir," the victim said.
Like his co-defendant, Melton faced charges of attempted-first degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment felony and possession of a firearm during an attempt to commit a felony in this incident.
Hamilton said investigators tracked down the stolen car and found a box of 9 mm rounds in the back seat matching the caliber of shell casings recovered from the Hickory Street scene.
Furthermore, Hamilton said, an investigator overheard a phone conversation in which Melton told somebody to deliver a message to a friend using an alias: "Tell him to lie down, it's hot."
When officers consulted the gang validation database and cross-referenced the aliases, it lead them to Franklin, Hamilton said.
Melton's attorney, Chris Dixon, said the hearsay would never be admissible in trial and therefore shouldn't be part of a preliminary hearing. After Tuesday's hearing, he declined to comment.
Starnes disagreed with Dixon and sent Melton's charges to the grand jury. In a different hearing on Tuesday for an Aug. 7, 2015, incident, Melton's charges for theft of property over $10,000, resisting a stop and evading arrest also were bound over.
In the case of Franklin, Starnes said prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence. The judge didn't know if Franklin's prints were on the vehicle, or if he was inside during the shooting. He didn't know what "lie down, it's hot" meant in the greater context. He also erred on the side of caution and didn't use any evidence that investigators said they gleaned from the victim's friend, who was not in court.
"I'm forced to conclude in Mr. Franklin's case that there's no evidence to bind [him] over to the grand jury," Starnes said. "His case will be dismissed."
Afterward, Pearce said he was pleased with the outcome.
"I think it's the right one, given the proof that was put in front of the judge," he said. "I think that the evidence was really circumstantial. The state wasn't able to able to make the connection."
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@ timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347 with story ideas or tips. Follow @zackpeterson918.