Charged with attempted murder, vape store manager makes bail
The manager of a Chattanooga vape store chain who is charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a Marine is now out on bail.
Benjamin Thomas Connally III, 30, made bond
May 31 at the Catoosa County (Ga.) Jail, where he was being held for possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after an arrest earlier that month, clerks there said.
He was then transferred to Hamilton County, where Connally faces attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges in connection with a March shooting of Gunnery Sgt. Robert Driver Jr. in front of a restaurant on the 2100 block of Hamilton Place Boulevard. He paid $50,000 between two bond companies to be released June 1, Chattanooga clerks said.
Driver told police he and a group of friends were leaving Bar Louie’s March 26 and heading to their truck when a white male pulled up in a Nissan 350Z, fired one round into his shoulder and drove off, court records show.
The investigator, C.M. Stokes, confirmed the story through three witnesses, tracked down Hamilton Place security footage, and requested an internal police list of “all owners of a black Nissan 350/370Z in Hamilton County and surrounding areas,” according to an arrest affidavit.
“I also alerted them the suspect vehicle [possibly] has a commercial tag,” Stokes wrote in the court document. “I then received a list of 29 owners … and based on the information given by Mr. Driver and all of the witnesses, I was able to identify Benjamin Connally as the possible [suspect].”
Stokes said he tried to speak to Connally on his cellphone, but Connally refused. When police tracked him down at 1700 Roach Hollow Road in Catoosa County on May 12, Connally said through a closed door that the shooting was “self defense,” court records show.
He was arrested that day, according to booking reports.
Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Melydia Clewell said defense attorney Ben McGowan represents Connally. The 30-year-old had a court date scheduled for Tuesday in General Sessions Court, but attorneys requested more time to prepare “and the victim was fine with the continuance,” Clewell said.
Connally will next appear July 25.