Travoraus Thompson
Chattanooga Police Officer Jared Hamilton says a video obtained from the Chattanooga Housing Authority shows brothers Travoraus and Judius Thompson participating in the brutal slaying of 26-year-old Orlandas Gay.
Officer Hamilton said the video, taken about 5:20 p.m. on May 10, shows Judius Thompson, 26, and his girlfriend walking down Jeffery Lane at Emma Wheeler Homes. The video shows them being followed by Mr. Gay.
After a physical confrontation between the victim and Judius Thompson, Officer Hamilton says the video shows Travoraus Thompson, 24, run onto the scene.
In the recording, a shot is fired and Mr. Gay runs a few steps before falling to the ground. He is then tackled by one of the men, who the officer identified as Judius Thompson.
Screams from witnesses present off screen at the time of the murder and cries from audience members in the courtroom followed the sound of multiple other gunshots as the video showed Mr. Gay repeatedly fired upon by his assailant.
Officer Hamilton said that according to one witness on the scene, Travoraus Thompson said, “B****, you deserve this,” before shooting him on the ground.
He also told the judge that the victim was shot a total of four times, once in the neck, shoulder, groin, and flank.
Judius Thompson, who was detained shortly after the shooting, told Officer Hamilton during an interview that Mr. Gay was “talking trash.” He said they got into a very heated exchange and began to fight before he heard a gunshot. The suspect told officers that after checking himself, he fled the scene.
In a second interview, after police received the video of the murder, Judius Thompson told Officer Hamilton that “he saw his brother there on scene with a gun in his hand.”
“(Judius Thompson) said he did not see Travoraus shoot Mr. Gay, but that he did have a gun in his hand,” said Officer Hamilton.
The officer told General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes that two .25 caliber shell casings were collected from the scene, but that police never recovered a firearm.
He also told defense attorneys that Gay, who was a validated gang member, “had a very aggressive walking demeanor,” and that he was “flailing his arms to the side,” which “typically indicates an aggressive stance.” He said the victim was clearly the one who initiated closing the distance between Judius Thompson and himself.
He agreed that from the way Judius Thompson stepped in between his girlfriend and Gay in the video, it is possible he was trying to protect her. He also acknowledged that many other people appear in the video at the location of the slaying after the shooting began, but that most of them were not found and interviewed.
“We were only able to speak to two or three people,” he said. “A lot of people weren’t talking to us.”
Judge Starnes found probable cause and bound the charges against both men to the Grand Jury.
Judius Thompson