Bounty hunters arrested in mistaken identity slaying of Jalen Johnson

Seven men — all bounty hunters or bail bondsmen — have been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Jalen Johnson, who was killed while being pursued in a case of mistaken identity.

"After an exhaustive investigation, numerous man hours expended interviewing individuals, processing crime scenes, and sorting through statements and evidence, the information was presented to the grand jury for consideration," said Clarksville Police spokesman Jim Knoll.

A grand jury that met Monday and Tuesday returned multiple indictments against the bounty hunters, and they found no crimes were committed by Johnson or the three men in the car with him.

The confrontation began in a parking lot early on the morning of April 23. It led to a car chase that ended with two men shot inside a car on Fort Campbell Boulevard.

Johnson, a 24-year-old father of three young children, who went by the last name Milan according to some family members, was killed by the gunfire. He was a passenger in the back seat of the car, and the driver was injured but survived.

The grand jury returned indictments on seven men with 16 charges each.

The following were booked into Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday:

• William L. Byles, 31, Clarksville
• Kenneth Chiasson, 38, Clarksville
• Antwon D. Keesee, 32, Clarksville
• Jonathan Schnepp, 31, Clarksville
• Roger D. West, 31, Clarksville
• Prentice L. Williams, 34, Nevada
• Joshua Young, 27, Clarksville

Most of the men were bounty hunters, and some were bail bondsmen. Generally, bondsmen arrange bond to get detainees out of jail, while bounty hunters are paid to track down and detain people who fail to meet the bond agreement.

Each of the men were charged with:

• First-degree felony murder 
• Three counts of attempted second degree murder 
• Three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping 
• Attempted especially aggravated kidnapping 
• Aggravated assault 
• Three counts of aggravated assault
• Employing firearms in commission of dangerous felony 
• Felony reckless endangerment

Bond was set at $300,000 for each man.

►RELATED: Family says bail bondsmen had wrong man in fatal shooting

On April 23, Johnson and three other people were in a Nissan at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Whitfield Boulevard when they were approached by bounty hunters and bail bondsmen, according to previous reports.

The bounty hunters thought that William Ellis, who has warrants on file, was in the car, Knoll said. Ellis was not in the car, and none of the men in the car had warrants on file, according to Clarksville Police.

According to a Leaf-Chronicle review of 911 logs that night, one of the bonding agents claimed he was shot at by men inside the Nissan before returning fire.

But according to Knoll, there were no indications that anyone in the car had a firearm or that anyone shot at the bonding agents.

►RELATED: Bail bondsman told 911 he was fired at prior to fatal shooting

According to the indictments, Keesee, Byles, Schnepp, Young, West, Williams and Chiasson tried to unlawfully imprison Johnson by displaying handguns, killed him in the perpetration of a kidnapping and caused him to suffer injuries that led to his death.

The bail bondsmen and bounty hunters also tried to falsely imprison Jaydon Hogan, Marquentas Gold and Tyrone McKeage, tried to kill each man by shooting at them, used firearms during the commission of a violent felony and caused them to fear for their lives.

Finally, the grand jury charged them with felony reckless endangerment for "conduct with deadly weapons that placed or may have placed other person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury by discharging firearms numerous times in a Walmart parking lot in which there were multiple store customers."

Debra Morehead said her grandson, Jaydon Hogan, was the driver who was also shot. He survived.

"My grandson is still having problems coping with this," she said Wednesday. "This has messes him up. He's such a good kid."

The families of the four men are mostly related and were upset that the bounty hunters are being allowed bond.

"I'm bothered about (Jalen) killed over nothing," Morehead said.

Cousin Michael Milan said he is upset the bounty hunters didn't handle the situation better, even if they believed they had the right man.

"How come they didn't call the police?" he asked.

Johnson's uncle, Ronnie Milan, said no bond should have been set for the seven men accused of murder.

"He can't get out of the casket, so they shouldn't be able to get out on bond," he said. "He was 24 and healthy as a tree and now he's dead and gone."

Ronnie Milan said he doesn't know why the bounty hunters were not arrested sooner, rather than let a grand jury decide.

A grand jury meets in secret and hears from witnesses called by the state.

Even if the men had been arrested sooner, there would have been arrest warrants and a preliminary hearing in General Sessions court before being bound over to a grand jury.

"If I had done that, I would have been guilty until proven innocent," Ronnie Milan said.

The investigation is ongoing, Knoll said.

Reach Reporter Stephanie Ingersoll at singersoll@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf