Judge accepts plea agreement for Chattanooga man facing 16 charges

Ladarius Cross
Ladarius Cross

A 26-year-old Chattanooga man has pleaded guilty to theft of property over $1,000 and a number of other charges, wrapping up his lengthy criminal court docket.

Ladarius Cross will serve two years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, followed by four years of state-supervised GPS monitoring, Judge Tom Greenholtz said Friday in Hamilton County Criminal Court.

At the beginning of the week, Cross faced 19 charges, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a dangerous offense. Greenholtz agreed to dismiss those charges after prosecutor Kristen Spires announced both eyewitnesses could not identify Cross anymore.

Police said two victims, George Dillard and Alisha Twitty, flagged down an officer on Rossville Boulevard on July 4, 2012, claiming someone had shot at them in the 4100 block of Fagan Street.

They were transported to Erlanger hospital, where Twitty told police she and Dillard tried to buy cocaine, but three men approached the car saying they were in "Blood Territory," records show. Later that month, Twitty said she recognized the shooter, Cross, from a mugshot in the "Just Busted" weekly crime newsletter.

After those offenses were dismissed, Cross still faced 16 other charges, ranging from 2012 to 2014, many of them for criminal trespassing, theft, or marijuana and gun possession.

Earlier this week, attorneys on the case had agreed to have a bond hearing Friday. Instead, Cross' attorney, Mike Acuff, and Spires announced the plea agreement.

Cross pleaded guilty to several of the charges, most of which will run concurrently with his two-year sentence for theft. Concurrent means the charges run together, instead of stacking up. Spires said the state dismissed a small handful of the charges.

Cross told the judge he had been in custody for 13 months. He will get pretrial credit toward his sentence for that time served, Acuff said afterward. It wasn't immediately clear, though, when Cross will be transferred from the county's jail system to the state correction department.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at 423-757-6347 or zpeterson@timesfreepress.com. Follow @zackpeterson918.

Upcoming Events