Caleb Askins
Over the past two days, Chattanooga Police Department's Homicide investigators have arrested multiple suspects in relation to the homicide on Maryland Street that occurred on Aug. 29.
On Wednesday, CPD investigators arrested two 16-year-old males and charged them with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The juveniles were transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.
Earlier Thursday, the investigators arrested 19-year-old Samual Askins and 20-year-old Caleb Askins. Samuel Askins is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Caleb Askins is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. They are both in custody at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center.
Police answered a shots fired call at 31 Maryland St. at 11:36 p.m. and found 48-year-old Warren "Kojack" Crutcher with a bullet wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
Police found multiple 9mm and .40 caliber shell casings at the scene.
Officers were notified that a stolen black Audi Q5 was at 4518 Hixson Pike at 11:47 p.m. A witness saw four males exit the vehicle. Several spent 9mm and .40 caliber shell casings were found inside the vehicle.
Police said the 9mm shell casings found in the car had a correlation with the 9mm shell casings found at the murder scene.
The next day a sheriff's deputy initiated a traffic stop on a black Nissan Altima. Samuel Askins and the two juveniles were taken into custody. A .40 caliber pistol located in the Nissan was determined to be the gun that fired the .40 caliber shell casings found in the Audi.
Detectives recovered video that showed Samuel Askins together with the two juveniles before and after the homicide.
Detectives interviewed Caleb Askins, brother of Samuel Askins, and he said he had been home the night of the homicide. There was a message on the cell phone of Caleb Askins in which one of the juveniles told him to "move the band." Police said Samuel Askins was wearing an ankle bracelet at the time and he apparently got it off and had his brother to move it around the house as an alibi for him.
Police said another message on the phone was the juvenile telling Caleb Askins that a female who resided there was the object of the drive by shooting. Police said the juvenile provided multiple updates to Caleb Askins throughout the evening.
Detectives said the ankle bracelet of Samuel Askins was tampered with at 11:28 p.m. and multiple individuals left his house six minutes later. They said his cell phone records showed him travel to the location of the Audi, then travel to 31 Maryland St. Records showed him then return to the Audi.
Samuel Askins