Chattanooga police have arrested a man who they say was paid to kill 31-year-old Quintez Bulloch in July.
Police had been called to the 2900 block of Lightfoot Mill Road just after 12:30 p.m. on July 30. There, they found Bulloch, a father of two, lying on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound, according to Hamilton County court records. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses would later tell police that Bronathon Carter, 35, confessed to killing Bulloch and that he'd been paid to do it, court records state. The witnesses provided details that few people would know, investigators noted.
A search warrant for Carter's phone revealed texts in which Carter talks about Bulloch, investigators noted in the criminal affidavit, and "even received a picture of Bulloch with a large stack of money within days of the homicide."
By Dec. 10, investigators interviewed Carter at the Bradley County Jail.
He denied knowing Bulloch, but the investigator "knew this information to be false due to the messages I had seen where Carter talked about Bulloch."
Carter then gave police permission to search his phone that was in his jail property and gave officers his password, court records state. It's not clear if that was the same phone for which investigators obtained the earlier search warrant.
In that phone, however, investigators found a message from Carter to another person that said, "I'm the real thing. Now go and tell everyone that I killed Tez b-- so u can have a 3.5 and a room wit a zazby Salad."
On March 3, Carter was booked at the Hamilton County Jail and charged with criminal homicide, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Bulloch was an employee of The Camp House coffee shop. Shop owners took to Facebook shortly after his death to remember him.
"He was always a peaceful presence, always happy to have a conversation and learn new things," the Facebook post said. "When he started working for us he was a new father and he would walk around The Camp House showing off his new baby boy. He was so proud. This is so heartbreaking Rest in peace Tez."
Contact Rosana Hughes at 423-757-6327, rhughes@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.