Rodrick Demichael McGee
A gang member involved in two prior shootings has been ordered to serve an eight-year sentence in state prison. Rodrick Demichael McGee, 19, had been out on probation until he was caught with a loaded gun during a warrant roundup on March 15.
Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman, after hearing testimony, on Thursday morning ordered two consecutive four-year sentences into execution.
Police said McGee is a member of the Gangster Disciples and that gang "doodlings" were found in the same room at his mother's house on Pope Drive in East Chattanooga where the 380 pistol with a laser was located.
A member of the city street crimes unit said no one answered the door at the residence, but someone could be seen moving some curtains. Officers went into the residence after McGee stuck his head out of the back door.
Police found him hiding upstairs. There were three children in the house and one informed police that McGee had a gun. That led to finding the pistol on a dresser along with a home-made holster.
There was also a letter written to a judge by McGee nearby.
A state probation official said McGee had several probation violations, though several of the charges against him wound up being dismissed.
Prosecutor Leslie Longshore said McGee earlier entered guilty pleas in connection with two shootings. She said he had pulled up in a gold Nissan, stepped out of the vehicle, and began firing at three people on a porch on 13th Street.
In the second incident, in August 2014, he was in a Uhaul vehicle when he again fired at three people on a porch. One took a bullet to the abdomen, while the other two were injured.
Police said McGee did not admit that the 380 pistol was his, but he said there were people who wanted to kill him and people who cared about him provided him with protection.