Federal indictments have been brought against two men charged in connection with the mass shooting on McCallie Avenue on June 5 that left three people dead and 14 others injured.
A federal grand jury in Greeneville, Tn. on Tuesday returned a two-count indictment against Garrian King, also known as “Big G,” and Rodney Harris, also known as “3rd,” both of Chattanooga.
King was initially charged by federal authorities in a criminal complaint. Similar charges were brought against Harris.
Also, Mary's Bar, near where the shooting took place, is facing several violations at a hearing of the City Beer Board on Thursday morning.
Those include operating a disorderly place, allowing minors to loiter and gamble, and use of the premises not authorized by the permit.
Agents said, "CPD VCB observed numerous spent shell casings on the ground and located a blue Chevy Suburban backed into a parking space in the Walgreens parking lot across the street from the incident location. The blue Chevrolet Suburban was determined to be stolen. The vehicle was secured and towed to the Police Service Center for processing.
"CPD VCB reviewed camera footage from the Walgreens across from 2125 McCallie Ave. From the footage, CPD VCB learned that at approximately 0207 hours, the blue Chevy Suburban arrived at the Walgreens and backed into a parking space. A black male with a white shirt, khaki pants, white shoes, and a white hat, a second black male wearing a black shirt and red shorts, and a third black male wearing a sports jersey with the number 14 and white shorts exited the vehicle and walked toward the incident location. The black male with a white shirt, khaki pants, white shoes, and a white hat walked around the parking lot with a black rifle in his hand. He then walked in between two other vehicles in the parking lot and walked back to the parking lot with a mask on. He was no longer wearing the white hat when he returned to the parking lot. He then walked out of view of the camera toward the incident location, and the shooting occurred.
"Video from a Facebook Live video was obtained of the black male with a white shirt, khaki pants, white shoes, and mask holding a rifle in his hand while standing in the street on McCallie A venue in front of Mary's Bar and Grill. He walked around the crowd while holding the gun. The black male with a black shirt and red shorts is seen standing with him. The male with the mask and gun was identified as Rodney Harris, also known as "3rd," a federally convicted felon. The black male wearing the jersey with the number 14 was identified as Garrian King, also known as "Big G", a federally convicted felon. The black male wearing a black shirt and red shorts was identified as a known member of the Gangster Disciples street gang. King and Harris are known members of the Rollin 60 Crips street gang.
"At approximately 0237 hours, Chattanooga Police personnel arrived on scene at 2125 McCallie A venue and located several victims with gunshot wounds. One of those victims was Harris, who was lying in the street with the same clothes described above and the black mask on his head when the officers arrived. The rifle he was seen carrying was not located at the scene.
"Video surveillance showed that King got into side front door of a white Land Rover SUV that is parked in the Walgreens parking lot. The Land Rover SUV drove off through the parking lot towards South Willow Street. At approximately 0240 hours it returned, and King got into the passenger side front door of the white Land Rover. When he got into the Land Rover, King appeared to be carrying the rifle that Harris had prior to the shooting. The white Land Rover then left the scene heading through the parking lot towards South Willow Street.
"On June 7, 2022, CPD located a white Land Rover matching the one seen on camera the night of the homicides parked at King's residence. King was present at the address. CPD, with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), interviewed King, and King admitted that he was on scene on McCallie Ave. the night of the shooting. King further admitted that, after the shooting occurred, he picked up the rifle that Harris had, got into the passenger seat of the white Land Rover, and fled the scene. King admitted that he bought the rifle on May 28, 2022, for $800. King stated that he then drove to an unknown address on Milne Street and sold the rifle to a black male named "Dre" for $500.
"Law enforcement, however, determined the defendant was not truthful regarding what he did with the rifle, and they tracked the rifle to an address in Collegedale, Tennessee. The rifle was taken from the Collegedale address before law enforcement executed a search warrant on that address, but law enforcement was able to contact the person who took it from the Collegedale residence. The person who took the rifle from the Collegedale residence did not want to meet CPD, so he left the rifle at an agreed-upon location, and CPD recovered it there.
"The firearm was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15, AR-pistol with an arm brace chambered in .300 Blackout. The firearm was not manufactured in the State of Tennessee.
"On June 10, 2022, your affiant (agent) and Chattanooga Police Homicide Investigators Springer and Williams interviewed Harris at Erlanger Hospital. Harris was read his Miranda Rights, confirmed he understood his rights, and agreed to speak to law enforcement. Harris confirmed that he was in possession of the AR-pistol from Friday, June 3, 2022, until the shooting happened at Mary's on June 5, 2022. Harris stated that he was standing in a parking lot outside of Mary's with the ski mask on and the AR in his hand, when a car up the street began doing a burnout. Harris stated that someone then started shooting him, and he fell to the ground. Harris stated that he tried to stand up, and someone started shooting him again. Harris did not remember firing the Anderson AM-15 and did not know what happened to it after he fell to the ground a second time.
"There were 12 .300 Blackout fired cartridge casings located at the scene.
"Harris confirmed that he was a previously convicted felon at the time of this incident. On April 28, 2014, the defendant was convicted of Conspiracy of Crack Cocaine Distribution by a District Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee."
The new indictment alleges that the defendants each possessed a firearm after being convicted of a felony, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
If convicted, each defendant faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a period of supervised release of up to three years.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Chattanooga Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI. Several other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation, including the United States Marshals Service, United States Secret Service, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community face.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Poole will represent the United States.