Judge sends attempted murder charges to grand jury in Bar Louie shooting
In a photo lineup, three eyewitnesses couldn’t identify a Chattanooga vape store manager who is charged with first-degree murder, defense attorneys said Tuesday.
But prosecutors seemed to have no problem deflating that claim during Benjamin Connally III’s first hearing.
Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Christie Sell sent Connally’s charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment to the grand jury after listening to 45 minutes of testimony in connection with the March 26 shooting outside of Bar Louie.
Police have said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Driver Jr. and a group of friends were leaving the Hamilton Place bar around 9:30 p.m. on March 26 when a white male pulled up in a Nissan 350Z, fired one round into the marine recruiter’s shoulder and drove off.
Driver said he and his friends had been at Bar Louie since about 3 p.m. and never saw Connally inside. An older man with salt-and-pepper hair asked once if the group was talking to him. But nothing came of the incident, Driver said.
Driver said he was the last one to exit the restaurant and walk into the parking lot. There, a driver was circling through the back after speaking to one of Driver’s friends.
As he neared again, with the window down, the driver began to speak to him, Driver said.
Driver couldn’t understand the words, but moments later, he said, the man smiled. Then came the flash.
“After the muzzle flash, I stood up, I didn’t realize I was hit,” he told the judge. “I could see my friends looking at me, and I looked down and saw blood coming down my right shoulder.”
Defense attorney Jerry Summers said Driver had three drinks that evening, and that neither he nor two other eyewitnesses could positively identify Connally during a photo lineup on April 7.
“It’s an issue, that’s all I can say,” Summers said afterward.
Williams struck back by asking Chattanooga officer Corey Stokes to recount his investigation.
After interviewing Driver and his friends, Stokes knew he needed to find a black convertible with a specialty tag in Hamilton County. He said he found 29 cars matching the physical description, but only two with specialty tags.
One belonged to an elderly lady, whom Stokes called. But she had a family function on March 26 and said her car never left the driveway. The other belonged to Connally.
After the unsuccessful photo lineup, Stokes said he issued an arrest warrant and tried to locate Connally by staking out his businesses — Vapor Tonics. After he couldn’t find the car, Stokes said, he searched property records and noticed Connally had a parcel of land in Catoosa County, Ga. After he, some Chattanooga officers and some Georgia authorities went out there, they found Connally, Stokes said. The 30-year-old reportedly told them the shooting was in self-defense, after which Stokes said he drove to Chattanooga to secure arrest warrants, since that counted as an admission of guilt.
Driver, a Hixson resident, also testified he learned Connally’s identity after he spotted the black convertible in front of the Vapor Tonics location in Hixson and found the 30-year-old’s picture in a news article. Summers, however, questioned how he could have learned that information unless he spoke to investigator Stokes.
“Did you tell Mr. Driver about the Vapor Tonics businesses?” Summers asked.
“I said he owns two businesses in Chattanooga and we’re going to find him,” Stokes said.
“Did you tell the other witnesses about Vapor Tonics?” Summers asked.
“After the photo lineup I told them I have a pretty good idea about this guy,” Stokes said. “I have no clue how he got the information.”