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Emory Road deadly shooting suspects waive rights to preliminary hearings

The cases for two men accused in a deadly shooting in Powell in October will go to a grand jury.

A grand jury will hear a case for the two men accused in a deadly shooting that happened on West Emory Road in October.

Jorge Ortiz Gonzalez, 21, appeared in court Monday morning and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Cameron Brewer, 18, did not make an appearance in court, but his lawyer waived his right to a preliminary hearing for him.

The pair has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Cameron Brewer (left), Jorge Ortiz Gonzales (right)

Ortiz Gonzalez, Brewer and a 16-year-old juvenile were arrested on Oct. 24. They're accused in the murder of Cameron Smith, 19, and attempted murder of Luke Halliburton, 20.

Halliburton was injured and Smith was killed after shots were fired at their car on Oct. 10.

Investigators said a black 2015 mustang that the three suspects were in was chasing Smith when the shooting happened. It's believed the shooting and chase stemmed from a drug deal that happened earlier in the week.

MORE: 2 men, 1 juvenile charged in Powell fatal shooting

On Oct. 6, there was a narcotics deal involving $80 for a small amount of marijuana involving Halliburton and Gonzalez. During that deal, officials said Halliburton used fake money to purchase drugs from Gonzalez.

Smith was not present during the transaction, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

According to Major Crimes Unit Major Mike MacLean, Ortiz attempted to lure Halliburton and Smith to Ammons Street on Oct. 10 in an attempt to get his money back.

When Smith and Halliburton drove up, they saw several people around a black Mustang and decided to drive away. The Mustang followed and began shooting at the Chrysler Sebring that Smith was driving. According to the sheriff's office, the car came to a stop in the 2500 block of East Emory.

The juvenile was charged with felony murder, possession of a gun during a felony, and a juvenile in possession of a gun. He was being held in the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

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