Terrence LewisA Hamilton County Criminal Court judge on Tuesday revoked the bond for a man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase through Brainerd-area neighborhoods last week after allegedly killing another man while out on bond in a 2017 homicide.
Terrence Lewis, 25, is charged with shooting and killing 20-year-old Evan Derry in a drug-deal-turned-shooting on Dec. 28, 2017.
Since then he's been arrested at least three times for evading arrest, according to online court records, with the latest incident taking place on Dec. 6 after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper.
The trooper tried to stop a 2005 Kia Sorrento after a license plate reader notified him that the vehicle had been reported as stolen. It belonged to 29-year-old Randy Williams, who had been killed at a home in the 3100 block of Lightfoot Mill Road on Dec. 2.
Williams had been found by police, dead in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds.
Dash camera footage played in court on Tuesday showed the Kia initially stopping but then taking off. The chase reached speeds in excess of 80 mph through neighborhoods on Airport Road, Shallowford Road and eventually ending in an abrupt collision with two other vehicles at the intersection of North Saint Marks Avenue and Brainerd Road.
Lewis, who Chattanooga police identified as the driver, was found to be in possession of a Glock 22 .40-caliber pistol. He was taken into custody by Chattanooga police for questioning in connection to Williams' slaying.
The pistol was later determined to match the shell casings found at the scene of the Lightfoot Mill Road homicide, according to court records.
Lewis told police that his primary vehicle was his mother's red Kia Sportage, court records state. In that vehicle, police found Williams' debit card in the driver's side door next to a wallet that contained Lewis' driver's license.
He was then charged with especially aggravated robbery and first-degree murder and booked into the Hamilton County Jail on a $1.5 million bond, according to prosecutors. He faces other charges as a result of the pursuit with the trooper.
While those cases have yet to be sent to a grand jury, prosecutors asked Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman on Tuesday to revoke Lewis' $325,000 bond in the 2017 slaying of Evan Derry, effectively keeping Lewis in jail.
Lewis waived his appearance at the hearing, citing injuries he sustained in the crash after the pursuit - injuries his attorney said don't seem to be getting the proper care at the jail.
"The purpose of bond, broadly speaking, is to, one, protect the public; two, to ensure the defendant's appearance in court. What you've heard today strikes against both of those," prosecutor Andrew Coyle argued.
"A defendant is out on bond for felony murder, takes a trooper on a high-speed chase through pretty crucial areas of Chattanooga. And then wrecks with two vehicles, causing danger to the community. I believe also just the simple act of evading a police officer also indicates [Lewis] is a danger to not appear in court," he said.
Lewis' defense attorney Joshua Weiss countered Coyle's argument because the trooper, he argued, "cannot verify with his own personal observations that Mr. Lewis was the driver of this vehicle, nor can this trooper testify that he observed Mr. Lewis in possession of a handgun.
"Because of this, the court should deny the prosecution's motion and keep Mr. Lewis on the same bond."
During the hearing, the trooper testified, "I did not personally observe Mr. Lewis in the driver's seat."
Another trooper arrived shortly after the crash, and it was he who initially detained Lewis because the pursuing trooper had to chase one of the passengers on foot.
However, the judge said the evidence showed Lewis was the driver of the vehicle.
Lewis was evading arrest and "did so at such a peril to himself, to the trooper, to these other individuals with whom he collided on Brainerd Road, ending the pursuit," Steelman said.
With that, he ordered Lewis' bond be revoked in the 2017 case.
Contact Rosana Hughes at 423-757-6327, rhughes@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.