Courtney HighAfter Johnny Clemons Jr. turned away an alleged murderer from his home, he said he was harassed, shot at least three times, chased through Atlanta, and handed a death threat just 15 minutes before testifying against the man police say is responsible for a recent homicide.
Still, Clemons took the stand Tuesday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court and said Courtney High, 25, fled to Atlanta and admitted to shooting and killing his 22-year-old cousin, Jerica Jackson. Meanwhile, six courtroom officers flanked High, who sat directly in front of Clemons.
“He was telling me this information thinking I could secure him,” Clemons said, “by letting him hide down there. I didn’t feel comfortable, I didn’t feel what he’d done was right. Because if you’d murder your own cousin, you’d murder my cousin – your girlfriend.”
After hearing from Clemons and two Chattanooga Police Department investigators, Judge Lila Statom sent High’s charges to the grand jury on the same $1 million-plus bonds. Attorneys will deal with his aggravated assault and unlawful gun possession charges – which High picked up Aug. 9 after allegedly threatening his grandfather with a firearm – on Aug. 30, she said.
Tuesday’s hearing, about an hour long, was tense and highly secured. High was charged with first-degree murder, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault, unlawful carrying of a firearm, and possession of a firearm during commission to commit a felony, which his attorney, Sam Lewis, and prosecutor Lance Pope agreed to drop Tuesday. Otherwise, Lewis focused his energies on gang affiliation and gathering information on the police department’s investigation into High.