KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two teens have been indicted in the ambush killing of an Austin-East High School student, part of a violent crime spree police say they went on in early 2021.
A Knox County grand jury indicted Rashan Jordan, 15, and Deondre Davis, 18, for murder, attempted murder, theft and aggravated assault among other counts.
Starting in January 2021, police say, Jordan and Davis committed a series of crimes while armed. Jordan was 14 and Davis was 16 at the time.
Police say they shot at two young people leaving Austin-East in January 2021 in a traffic confrontation then ended with shots fired at a Magnolia Avenue gas station.
On Feb. 12, 2021, the indictment alleges, the teens waited outside Austin-East for Stanley Freeman Jr., 16. It was a Friday. As school let out, Freeman got in his Honda, started to drive away and the defendants followed.
Investigators say Jordan and Davis fired multiple shots as Freeman drove. He was struck several times and crashed his car. They fled, leaving Freeman mortally wounded.
More than 15 shell casings were found in the area where Freeman was shot on Tarleton Avenue. The gunmen used a rifle and a Glock pistol.
The defendants were not Austin-East students.
Two nights later, the indictments allege, Jordan and Davis shot a marijuana dealer who met them in a church parking lot on the pretense of buying drugs. The dealer lived and ended up testifying against them at a juvenile court hearing.
Police arrested them soon after, finding guns that matched the murder weapons at a Cathedral Lane home, testimony has shown.
The teens first were charged in juvenile petitions because they were under 18. Knox County Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin ruled earlier this year the juvenile court system could do no more to help them and that it was in the public's interest that they should be tried as adults.
They've been held in Knox County custody since.
The bond for Jordan is $2.5 million and $1,000,500 for Davis, according to the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office.
On June 30, the court denied Davis' motion for a reduced bond -- granting additional time to continue the case until August 19.
