A Tennessee man accused of fatally shooting another man during a confrontation in May allegedly made threatening phone calls prior to the incident, according to testimony from a detective in court this week.
Detectives said 34-year-old Demontra Quintez Collins spoke about 27-year-old Jamel Daeshun Sutton in a phone call before the shooting, stating, “I’m coming in and (he) ain’t coming back.” In another call, Collins reportedly said, “I’m going to handle that (victim).” He also allegedly discussed a potential “self-defense” situation in multiple phone conversations before the encounter.
Following a hearing in General Sessions Court, Judge Larry Ables bound the case over to the Grand Jury on a charge of criminal homicide in connection with Sutton’s death. The deadly shootout occurred on May 14 in the 1200 block of North Hickory Street in Chattanooga.
Diamond Boyd, who testified during the hearing, said she had been dating Sutton since last September. She told the court that on the day of the shooting, Sutton had picked her up along with her two young children—ages four and under one—and driven to a house on North Hickory Street.
Boyd recounted that while Sutton was taking one child out of a car seat, and she was at the back of the car with the trunk open, Collins pulled up in a white Jeep. She said Collins jumped out with a Draco-style AR pistol and began firing shots. According to Boyd, the Jeep was still running and eventually rolled into a mailbox.
She said she heard what sounded like 16 or 17 gunshots but did not see Sutton carrying a gun. However, police later recovered a 9mm handgun near Sutton’s body, along with 9mm shell casings. Investigators said Sutton fired two shots, while Collins allegedly fired up to 12 rounds with the Draco pistol.
The men had reportedly argued days earlier on Mother’s Day. Attorney Gerald Webb, representing Collins, said Sutton had displayed a gun in a threatening way and had shown up at Collins’ workplace at Gestamp. He added that Collins was simply driving by when he believed Sutton was reaching for a gun, though bystanders claimed Sutton was adjusting a child’s car seat.
Collins, who has no prior criminal history and is a college graduate employed at Gestamp for eight years, called police after the incident and voluntarily turned over the weapon. He remains out on a $250,000 bond under GPS monitoring and house arrest. Judge Ables noted he would have set a higher bond had he been aware of the threatening phone calls at the initial bond hearing.