Trial gets underway for 2023 Amazon shooting suspect
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A young life tragically cut short, a community demanding justice, and a courtroom where emotions and evidence stood still all collided this Tuesday afternoon in Chattanooga
The heinous crime occurred in August of 2023 where 20-year-old D’ante Jones, the accused gunman, tragically killed 19-year-old Javontae Moon in a senseless act of violence.
Outside the Amazon Fulfillment Center on Volkswagen Drive here in Chattanooga, Moon was seen on surveillance footage being approached by a gunman and then shot at close range.
Moon was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries.
As shift change was occurring the night of the crime, the courtroom learned that Jones swiftly took a Lyft to retrieve his weapon of choice and return to the fulfillment center.
Paul Moyle, Chief Homicide, Prosecutor, stated that the defendant “raised his arms in jubilant celebration [how you] see a star athlete [look] after scoring a winning touchdown. Was he promoted? Did he receive a raise? Did he set some sort of company record for efficiency? No. He made that gesture because moments before he shot a man in the face.”
The Lyft Driver, who has requested to remain anonymous, was called to the stand to provide his witness statement on the events leading up to the crime.
The anonymous Lyft Driver recalled that “the person that was in my car said the guy that he had gotten in an altercation with said that he would kill the person that was in my car and so from there somewhere in the conversation he told me that he went and got a gun.” where he was taken back to the fulfillment center.
Using surveillance footage from the Fulfillment Center, prosecutors argued that Jones intentionally targeted Moon on that fateful day.
The defense, however, countered with a plea for context, suggesting that the incident may have stemmed from a personal conflict and was not a calculated attack.
News 12 will continue to follow this case closely and bring you updates as they unfold.
