KNOXVILLE, Tenn — In a split verdict after two days of deliberations, a Knox County jury on Tuesday afternoon convicted one young man, acquitted another and admitted they were hopelessly deadlocked regarding a third in a January 2021 attack that targeted two Austin-East High School students as they left school.
Knox County Criminal Court jurors found Ahmad Gatlin, 19, guilty of two counts of attempted first-degree murder, among other counts. He likely faces decades in prison.
Judge Steve Sword set sentencing for Jan. 5 for Gatlin, who is represented by Mark Stephens and Melissa DiRado. A visibly moved DiRado put her arm firmly around Gatlin, seeking to comfort the stunned young man.
Jurors, however, acquitted Gatlin's co-defendant Rashan Jordan, 17, of the same charges and they told Sword after roughly 12 hours of deliberations that they simply couldn't agree on the guilt of Deondre Davis, also 19.
After polling each juror to confirm the deadlock, Sword declared a mistrial in the case against Davis. The prosecution will have to decide if it wants to continue pursuing charges against him.
The trial started last week. It's rare for a Knox County criminal case to extend into a second week. Jury deliberations against the trio began about 3 p.m. Monday.
Prosecutors sought to convince the panel that the three young men, all juveniles at the time, shot at and chased Johnkelian Mathis and his girlfriend Azley Mills the afternoon of January 14, 2021, as they drove away from school.
Gunmen and victims ended up at the busy Exxon station at Magnolia Avenue and Cherry Street. Multiple gunshots were fired. Mathis returned fire with his own pistol.
Mills suffered injuries to her arm and eye.
The gunmen sped away in a stolen Honda Pilot.
The prosecution presented photos, videos, texts and ballistics evidence to link the three to the attack. Several guns were used in the shooting, some of which later were recovered at different crime scenes in 2021.
Prosecutors admitted they lacked DNA and fingerprints that connected the defendants to the guns or the recovered Honda, a point the defense happily seized upon.
The Knox County jury wasn't allowed to hear that Davis and Jordan are serving life sentences for murdering an Austin-East student one month after the January 2021 shooting.
The pair also still must face trial for another attempted killing against a marijuana dealer that happened on Valentine's Day, 2021 in an East Knoxville church parking lot. That case likely will proceed next year.
Jordan is represented by Hoai Robinette. Some of Jordan's family members wept with gratitude as the not-guilty verdict was read out.
Davis is represented by Ashlee Mathis and Gregory P. Isaacs.
