Prosecution seeking to show jury jail calls at impending Andre Grier murder trial

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A Chattanooga gang member charged with the murder of a mother set to testify against his fellow gang members was back in court Monday.

Andre Grier is charged with first degree murder in the 2016 killing of Bianca Horton.

Horton was set to testify in a separate murder case involving Cortez Sims after her baby daughter Zoe was shot.

However, according to prosecutors, she was kidnapped, shot, and dumped off the side of a road after making that decision.

Today, the prosecution played a series of jail calls they say demonstrate the orchestration of her murder by members of the Athens Park Blood Gang.

One of those calls showed Cordelle Collier, who investigators say is a known member of the gang, say in a phone call, “One second. I just wish I could go back to that one second man. That one second, and change that whole situation man.”

That was one of ten calls played before Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson by the prosecution against Andre Grier.

They are looking to be able to present these in an eventual trial against Grier in the murder of Bianca Horton.

Prosecutor Collin Campbell said,  “These aforementioned individuals, Mr. Grier, Cortez Sims and his family, and other members of the Athens Park Bloods, were engaged in a conspiracy to prevent Bianca Horton to from testifying.”

One of the primary jail calls played was that of Sims reacting to Horton being named as a witness for his impending murder trial.

Sims said in a profane rant on another jail call, “These people are just trying to bring (expletive) up man. (unintelligible) that’s (expletive) up. (expletive), the only thing they’ve got is two people saying that I did it. The little red (expletive) and the (expletive).”

 Grier’s defense attorney Kit Rogers says he is objecting to these calls being allowed for the jury in the murder trial.

He is arguing these calls, many of which do not contain Grier, are irrelevant to his murder case.

Rogers said, “I believe that the State would have to further define what the actual conspiracy is, if it’s related to the murder charges in front of the court which are the first degree murder charges.”

More jail calls will be played next week as Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson will make a decision on their inclusion for the October trial.

This is a capital murder case where the State is seeking the death penalty.