A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2020 shooting death of a Chattanooga man and was sentenced to serve 20 years in a Tennessee Department of Correction facility.
Harrison Alexander Ellison was facing charges of attempted first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree murder in the Sept. 29, 2020, shooting of 18-year-old Jacobreyan Reed in the 3900 block of Dodds Avenue.
On Wednesday, Ellison entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
He also entered a guilty plea to charges of automobile burglary and contraband in penal institutions and was sentenced to serve two and three years, respectively, to be served consecutively with the murder charge.
Ellison's mother interrupted the hearing Wednesday, begging her son to reconsider entering a guilty plea.
"Don't let her pressure you into taking a plea if you don't want to," Joyce Durham told her son, referring to his attorney, as she interrupted the pretrial conference that turned into a hearing to enter a guilty plea.
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Man, 21, gets 20 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder of Chattanooga man
Attorney Brandy Spurgin-Floyd told the Chattanooga Times Free Press she understands Durham wanting to protect her son.
"I know that I can only imagine what it's like to be going through what Ms. Durham went through today," Spurgin-Floyd said via text. "Harrison is a 21-year-old facing a decision that is likely the biggest of his life. I definitely appreciate her instinct to protect her son. Harrison ultimately made his own decision that was knowing and voluntary, and that is what is required. It is never easy, as a defense attorney to counsel a client on such serious situation, and I do not take that responsibility lightly."
After interrupting the hearing, Durham asked the judge if she could speak to her son before he was able to finish entering the plea, to which Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman agreed and allowed them to speak in a private room.
After several minutes, Durham emerged, frustrated.
"What they don't recognize is that my heart goes out to them," Durham said to the Times Free Press in the middle of the courtroom, about Reed's family.
Once the hearing resumed, Durham wiped away tears as Ellison said "guilty" for each charge.
Shortly after 5 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2020, Reed was found by Chattanooga police officers sitting in a vehicle at the Citgo gas station with a gunshot wound to the head. Reed was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
Reed's mother, Tamika Haden, made a statement at the hearing.
"I forgive you," Haden told Ellison "I haven't been the same since. I don't eat. I don't sleep. ... I'm over protective."
"I'll pray for you, for your mother," she said through tears. "It's two families that lost their young ones."
Ellison and Kenneth King Jr, 34, were arrested Oct. 7, 2020. King is scheduled to appear before Steelman on May 31 and is facing first-degree premeditated murder charges.
Living conditions
In December, Spurgin-Floyd filed a motion to transfer Ellison from the Silverdale Detention Center to the Tennessee Department of Correction pending his trial, citing inhumane living conditions.
Video of Ellison's cell was dark, due to a broken light fixture, and showed a stack of Styrofoam containers on a table and a black plastic container collecting water in the middle of the cell. It also showed several linens hanging in a clothesline in the cell.
In response to the video, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said vandalism is a recurring issue in the jail, and the water damage to Ellison's cell was due to flooding -- when an inmate intentionally clogged the toilet and it overflowed -- from the cell above, and the light fixture had been repaired.
Ellison has been at Silverdale since his 2020 arrest.
Earlier this year, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp argued against the transfer in a two-day hearing, calling the jail sufficient.
Steelman ultimately denied the request, saying Ellison was as safe as he could be and set a trial date instead.
Serving sentence
Steelman commended Haden, Reed's mother, for extending forgiveness to Ellison and urged Ellison to try to turn his life around.
"I hope you take the forgiveness that's extended to you and then turn that around, in your life, to making better decisions moving forward," Steelman said. "Perhaps you can make a difference in the life of somebody else down the road.
"You're going to be in custody for a long time," Steelman said. "But you're still going to be alive and be able to make choices."
As Ellison was being escorted out of the court to start serving his sentence, he turned to Durham and said, "I love you, Mom."
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.