Nautica Goldthreat
A detective testified in General Sessions Court that a shootout on the parking lot of a local funeral home on Dec. 18, 2021, related to an earlier Chattanooga shooting.
Detective Stephen Bulkley said members of the family of Antonio Sparks, who was killed in the earlier shooting, "had a lot of understandable frustration and anger" with another person involved in the earlier shooting - Vincent Mayes Jr.
He said one of those was Nautica Goldthreat. He said he was told that Goldthreat is the uncle of Sparks and was very close to him.
Charges were bound to the Grand Jury against Goldthreat of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Judge Lila Statom increased his bond.
Goldthreat is charged with shooting Mayes on the Taylor Funeral Home parking lot. Mayes was hit, but survived the shooting.
Detective Bulkley said in the earlier shooting that Mayes and Sparks went to shoot up a house on Cannon Avenue. He said someone in the house began shooting back and one bullet hit Sparks in the head and killed him.
He said Mayes did not stay around to help Sparks or summon aid, but left the scene.
In the funeral home shooting that happened at 11:35 a.m., the detective said he found 45 caliber shelling casings at one spot on the parking lot and 40 caliber casings on another.
He said video from the funeral home showed Goldthreat wearing a red hat and an Angels t-shirt. He said Goldthreat has distinctive tattoos, some of which could be seen in the video. He said those included a vertical tattoo next to his right eye and a shamrock tattoo on his right cheek.
The witness said Mayes could be seen walking away from the shootout and then running. He said there was a blood trail from one of the group of shell casings that led to the front door of the funeral home, to the service area, and up some steps to the left of the stage. He said Mayes wound up in a room up the stairs prior to being taken to the hospital.
Chattanooga Police Department's Fugitive Unit had been pursuing Goldthreat for almost two years and, through innovative investigative techniques, they discovered his location in Richmond, Va. The Fugitive Unit relayed the location of Goldthreat to federal partners at the United States Marshals Service.
The United States Marshals Service located Goldthreat in Richmond on Sept. 21, and arrested him on the outstanding warrants.