Photo Hamilton County Sheriff's Office / Zachary Tyrell SmithA man due to appear in court on Tuesday on homicide charges was arrested on Jan. 1, one year to the day he is alleged to have fatally shot Ladarius Howard, 27, on Wilcox Boulevard in Chattanooga.
Zachary Tyrell Smith, 33, was arrested in Bridgeport, Alabama, in a joint operation between six law enforcement agencies, the Chattanooga Police Department announced in a news release. They included the Chattanooga Police Department's Fugitive Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport (Alabama) Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force.
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Police responded at 5 p.m. on New Year's Day 2021 to the 2200 block of Wilcox Boulevard after receiving a report of a person being shot, the release said.
They were told that a person suffering from a gunshot wound had been taken by a private vehicle to a hospital, reads an arrest report. After securing the scene at the gas station, police traveled to an area hospital and confirmed that Howard was the man who had been shot. Howard later died.
Smith was identified by several witnesses at the scene, according to the report.
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Video of the Shell gas station at 2285 Wilcox Boulevard showed a man wearing a black jacket and pants, a white T-shirt and red and black shoes entering the convenience store of the gas station with a gun in his pocket, according to the arrest report.
The video shows the vehicle pulling into the gas station with Howard sitting in the passenger seat. A man, later identified as Smith, is seen walking over to the car, opening the driver-side rear door and shooting at Howard, the report said.
Smith is being held at Silverdale Detention Center without bond. He is charged with criminal homicide, possession of a firearm with intent to go armed, possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony and reckless endangerment. He is due to appear in court on Feb. 8.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.