2nd suspect arrested in chemical attack on employees
A second arrest has been made in a 2017 chemical attack on Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority employees.
Chattanooga police were called to CARTA’s administrative office, located at 1617 Wilcox Blvd., on Sept.
26, 2017. There they found a woman with burns to her face and multiple other employees who were exposed to an unknown chemical.
The woman and other employees were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
At the hospital, the woman told police that an unknown woman approached her and threw an unknown substance onto her face. The liquid splashed onto four other CARTA employees, who sustained less severe injuries.
In the CARTA parking lot, police located a Circle K gas station coffee cup in the CARTA parking lot that was used to throw the liquid.
Surveillance footage showed a woman exit the passenger side of a BMW 5 series that was backed into a parking spot. The woman walks up to the victim and tosses the chemical in her face, runs back to the BMW and flees.
Two days later, police recovered security footage from the Circle K gas station, located at 2514 Amnicola Highway. The video showed the same woman from the CARTA video purchasing a coffee at 6 a.m. on the same day the attack took place.
Almost a year later, police arrested 30-year-old Maja Madesha GarciaThompson on Aug. 9, 2018, after a witness came forward with information, according to Hamilton County court records.
The witness said GarciaThompson told her she committed the assault and even told the witness what chemicals were used in the attack.
Garcia-Thompson was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. Her case since has been bound over to criminal court, and her next court appearance will be on Aug. 8.
Now, one more suspect has been arrested: 52-yearold Vincent Nash.
He’s accused of driving the BMW on the day of the attack.
Nash was arrested Friday and has been charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment “for his role as co-conspirator and facilitator in this deliberate attack with a chemical substance,” according to a news release from Chattanooga police.
He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail where his bond was set at $85,000. He is expected in court on Aug. 6.
Nash has an extensive arrest history in Hamilton County dating back to 1993, according to online court records. His charges range from posession of drugs to aggravated assault and robbery.
Garcia-Thompson has two earlier charges in Hamilton County. Those include a child neglect charge in 2017 and a false report charge in 2010.
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