Police have arrested a man in connection with a September shooting that left one man dead outside a Chattanooga bar.
Deangelo Lovingood, 33, faces charges of first-degree murder, reckless endangerment and firearms violations, court records show. He was booked Tuesday into the Hamilton County Jail on a $2 million bond, according to jail records.
(READ MORE: Authorities investigating deadly Bonny Oaks Drive shooting)
Tavarious Johnson, 23, died of multiple gunshot wounds from the Sept. 24 shooting, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Police Department. His was the 22nd fatal shooting in Chattanooga this year, according to police data.
Police responded to the reported shooting outside Kay’s Tavern on Bonny Oaks Drive around 2:40 a.m. on Sept. 24, according to a sworn police affidavit in the case. Officers found a trail of blood, several shell casings, clothing and a cell phone at the scene, the report said.
Video footage viewed by police reportedly showed Johnson approaching two men outside the bar. A short time later, the affidavit said, Lovingood began shooting at him with a gun that appeared to be hidden in his right hand.
People, including the suspect, then dispersed from the scene, the video shows.
Officers identified Lovingood based on a colorful jersey he was seen wearing in the video footage, according to the affidavit. He reportedly posted a photo on social media wearing the same jersey, investigators found.
Lovingood was arrested Tuesday on a warrant, according to police.
Tomica Sivels, Johnson’s mother, said Wednesday she’s happy to see an arrest in her son’s homicide.
“The 23 years that the Lord gave me with him was great years,” Sivels said by phone. “I really truly enjoyed being his mother.”
Johnson was “smart as a whip,” funny and always made sure to tell people he loved them, his mother said. He couldn’t dance, but he still tried, she said, laughing.
He played football, basketball and wrestled while in school and later earned his GED. He was also involved in the Chattanooga Boys Choir, Urban League and a multicultural youth program, Sivels said.
“I knew he was loved, but I didn’t have any idea he was loved that much,” Sivels said. “It was a nice homegoing. It was not a sad occasion, it was a celebration.”
Toriq Johnson Sr., Johnson’s father, started a nonprofit in 2017 after another of his sons, Toriq Johnson Jr., was shot and killed.
“That was devastating,” Toriq Johnson Sr. said by phone. “It was the same thing, gun violence. It transformed my life to want to do things to help out other generations.”
When Toriq Jr. died, Johnson said, he bought two other plots at the cemetery so his son wouldn’t be next to strangers.
(READ MORE: Continuing a son’s dream: ‘Dreams Come True Foundation’ launches)
“I told his mother I was never going to bury another child,” he said. “But something in me would not let me not be there with my son.”
Johnson said his son, Tavarious, went to juvenile detention as a teenager and spent some time in jail around two years before his death. But he was changing, Johnson said, becoming more connected to his family and talking about having children of his own.
“I just want him to know I love him,” Johnson said. “I miss you, son.”
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.