The manager of a Chattanooga vape store chain who is charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a Marine is now out on bail.
Benjamin Thomas Connally III, 30, made bond May 31 at the Catoosa County (Ga.) Jail, where he was being held for possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after an arrest earlier that month, clerks there said.
He was then transferred to Hamilton County, where Connally faces attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges in connection with a March shooting of Gunnery Sgt. Robert Driver Jr. in front of a restaurant on the 2100 block of Hamilton Place Boulevard. He paid $50,000 between two bond companies to be released June 1, Chattanooga clerks said.
Benjamin Thomas ConnallyDriver told police he and a group of friends were leaving Bar Louie on March 26 and heading to their truck when a white male pulled up in a Nissan 350Z, fired one round into his shoulder and drove off, court records show.
The investigator, C.M. Stokes, confirmed the story through three witnesses, tracked down Hamilton Place security footage, and requested an internal police list of “all owners of a black Nissan 350/370Z in Hamilton County and surrounding areas,” according to an arrest affidavit.