Detective Matthew Puglise testifies
Chattanooga Police Detective Lucas Fuller on Tuesday told in court how he wound up behind two murder suspects in the victim's truck in a gang-plagued part of town. He told how they came out gunning toward his unmarked vehicle.
He said, "My radio's down and there are least two shooters. I'm in a bad spot."
Detective Fuller said the pair fired at least 14 shots, but none hit him or his vehicle.
However, two brothers who were nearby were struck by bullets, but were not seriously injured.
Murder, robbery and several other charges were bound to the Grand Jury against Gary Toney Jr., 19, and Javonte Davis, 17, in the April 11 brutal knife slaying of 66-year-old Robert Rutledge at the Shepherd Hills Apartments.
Detective Fuller said he went to the known gang area at Arlington Avenue and Milne Street to look for the victim's white Dodge Ram after learning that the victim allegedly had some ties to the Rollin 40 Crips.
He said, sure enough, the pickup he was looking for came past him, then tried to go down a street that was a dead end. He said the vehicle then veered back around and stopped in the middle of Milne Street.
Detective Fuller said he saw a group of people headed toward his vehicle, and shots began to be fired from the truck in his direction. He said the driver was firing out the window toward the rear, and the passenger began firing multiple shots from a semi-automatic handgun while perched on the passenger window frame.
The detective said, "I crouched down," but he did not draw his own weapon.
He said the pickup began driving away and he followed. He said it would stop every so often, but no more shots were fired.
He said he was able to contact a dispatcher by using his phone, and he stayed on the line during the pursuit that led from East Chattanooga to near McCallie School and then to Brainerd.
He watched as the pickup took too sharp a curve at Dee Drive off Carousel and plowed into a mailbox. Toney was knocked unconscious, but Davis fled. Davis was caught a short time later.
During the chase, a teen girl had taken over the driving. She was also arrested. Two handguns were in the truck, and Toney and Davis acknowledged they were their weapons.
Detective Fuller said the first squad car had joined the chase near McCallie School. It moved up to the lead position behind the truck and he was next in line. He said a host of other patrol cars soon joined the pursuit.
Asked how many police officers were on the scene at the end, he said, "My goodness, I don't know. There were a lot."
He said he did not have video in his car to film the chase.
The detective said at one point when he crossed paths with the truck in a parking lot that he saw the face of Davis. He said he did not see Toney during the pursuit.
He said he returned to the shooting scene and found 14 shell casings - 10 .22-caliber and four 9mm.
Detective Matthew Puglise said the victim, who lived alone in an upstairs unit, was found dead near the front door. He said there was a trail of blood from the residence.
He said there were signs of a struggle and blood was splattered throughout the home, which had been ransacked. Chlorox had been used in an attempt to clean up the scene.
"You could tell he had been brutally murdered," he said. The stab wounds included in the face and neck.
The tip of a knife was broken off in his skull, according to the autopsy.
The witness said neighbors told of hearing noises from the apartment that night. Some said it was from a period of around 8:30-10:30 p.m., which another said it was as late as 1:30 a.m.
He said one witness reported seeing what appeared to be a TV being carried off. The girl who was driving at the time of the wreck said she was given a piece of jewelry from the apartment. She said Toney and Davis picked her up at 3 o'clock that morning.
At the home of Toney on Terry Court, police found bloody clothing and a knife with blood on it. The tip of the knife was broken off. There was mail in the garbage can addressed to the murder victim. Chlorox was also at the residence.
Judge Clarence Shattuck called it "a horrible situation." He said the chase "sounded like something from a cowboy show."
He added, "I'm just thankful there were not more people hurt."
District Attorney Neal Pinkston was the prosecutor.
Davis and Toney