A 23-year-old man has been charged in connection with a shooting last month that injured a person in the 100 block of East 19th Street.
Witnesses told police Jonathan Conyers was the man who shot 29-year-old Demontez Russell on Aug. 30.
Just before 1 a.m. that day, an officer was in the area when she heard shots being fired.
Moments later, she found Russell, who had a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The officer immediately rendered aid and called for help.
Russell was taken to a local hospital, was listed in critical condition and, as a result, could not immediately speak to investigators, court records show.
Investigators then went to the scene, where multiple witnesses were in the area when the shooting occurred. They gave a physical description of the suspect, but that was all they could offer, according to court records.
Over the course of the investigation, two more witnesses came forward and identified the suspect as Conyers. The witnesses' description of events corroborated other pieces of information investigators already had, court records state.
Since 2014, the police department has worked to build better community relationships in hopes of cultivating better witness cooperation and to improve information-gathering efforts. Over the years, those efforts have led to a boost in the department's homicide clearance rate, bringing it up to 70 percent in 2017 - a 30 percent increase over the year before.
"The Chattanooga Police Department is seeing more involvement from community members on a consistent basis," police Chief David Roddy said in a statement. "By community members becoming familiar with the officers patrolling their neighborhoods, engaging with them and building trust, they're helping us reduce violence in our community."
Conyers was arrested Friday and is charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while in commission of a felony and reckless endangerment.
He was booked at the Hamilton County Jail and is being held on a $600,000 bond. He is set to appear in court on Sept. 17.
Conyers does not have an arrest history in Hamilton County, according to court records. The investigation into the Aug. 30 shooting, however, is ongoing, according to the police department.
Chattanooga police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call 423-698-2525.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423- 757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.