A grand jury will decide if D'Ante Jones will face first-degree murder charges in a shooting incident at Chattanooga's Amazon Fulfillment Center last month.
Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes said during a hearing Wednesday he believes there is probable cause to move forward with the case against Jones, 20, who stands accused of the Aug. 9 shooting that left one person dead.
The grand jury process could take anywhere from six months to a year.
Jones was arrested Aug. 9 by Chattanooga police in connection with the shooting of 19-year-old JaVontae Moon at the Amazon Fulfillment Center shortly after 4:30 a.m., according to a sworn affidavit from the department
Jones was facing two other charges, attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a felony, but those were dismissed at the hearing.
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office / D'Ante Jones
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A short clip of surveillance video of the incident was played during the hearing. The video showed a man dressed in black approach Moon, who was wearing a yellow sweater, and immediately shoot him in the face, after which Moon fell to the ground.
In the courtroom, a man who was in the gallery and saw the video stood up and exited the courtroom shortly after that segment. He was breathing heavily and said it was too much to watch.
After the shooting at Amazon, Moon was taken to Erlanger hospital with life-threatening wounds and was not expected to make a recovery, according to the affidavit. He died of his injuries Aug. 10, according to his obituary.
During the hearing, Chattanooga Police Detective Jason Gunn testified to seeing a pool of blood in front of the building at 7200 Discovery Drive when he arrived after the shooting.
Gunn also testified that Jones informed him that he and Moon had gotten into an argument earlier and that Moon had threatened him.
"He said he wanted to stop that," Gunn said.
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Gunn testified that Jones was identified by a few witnesses from a photo lineup as the person Moon had the altercation with, but that Jones was primarily identified as the shooter from the statements he made to Gunn after Jones was taken into custody.
Jones is being held at the Hamilton County Jail on a $1 million bond and is to have no contact with any members of the Moon family.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.