Man gets 3 years for transport of arms
A 25-year-old man will spend the next three years in federal prison for leading police on a high-speed chase with a friend who was suspected of killing a well-known gang kingpin in January. Marquis McReynolds apologized Friday to U.S. District Court Judge Travis McDonough, who sentenced him to 38 months, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 fine for unlawful transport of firearms.
“You’ve spent a lot of time incarcerated,” McDonough said while considering McReynolds’ punishment. Did the judge want to sentence a soon-to-be father at the maximum or minimum range? “I don’t know that the particular sentence is going to have a great deal of deterrence either way,” McDonough concluded. “That’s something you’re going to have to decide to change.”
Prosecutors say McReynolds crashed a stolen car into a ditch in Avondale after leading police on a highspeed chase across Shallowford Road and Highway 153 on Jan. 23. Earlier that day, police tried to approach McReynolds and his passenger, Jermichael Brooks, after receiving a tip about “suspicious parties” behind an auto parts store on Highway 58, court records show. But McReynolds sped off, and police followed close behind, thinking they were chasing a stolen car since the tags on his Honda Accord belonged to a different vehicle. Authorities found two bullets on McReynolds, which he wasn’t supposed to have as a convicted felon.
“The individual [in his car, Brooks] was also believed to be a suspect in a murder, even though we didn’t have warrants out for murder,” prosecutor Steve Neff said.
Neff was referring to the slaying of Jumoke Johnson, 23, and Christopher Woodard, 20, who were shot from the back seat of a car as they traveled down East 12th Street on Jan. 20, three nights earlier.
Three sources told the Times Free Press in February that Brooks is the prime suspect in that double homicide. Police spokeswoman Eliza Myzal could not be reached for comment Friday, but officers have sent
forensic evidence to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Brooks’ defense lawyer, Lee Davis, has denied any involvement on his client’s part.
“Testing of evidence submitted as part of the homicide investigation involving Jumoke Johnson and Christopher Woodard is not yet complete,” TBI spokeswoman Leslie Earhart said.
As for McReynolds, he’d never had a real opportunity to do something meaningful in society, federal public defender Gianna Maio argued Friday.
His history explained a lot, Maio said: An incarcerated father growing up. An aggravated robbery in 11th grade in 2008. Two co-conspirators who ran and left McReynolds at gunpoint until police arrived. Tried as an adult. Given an eight-year sentence. And behind bars from the ages of 16-24. When he returned to the same neighborhood, with a GED and cooking classes from prison, McReynolds had a small window of time to veer away from bad influences and relocate to Nashville with his father. He tried working with temp agencies and his uncle, a janitor. His mother and grandmother were supportive.
“Even 33 months is harsh,” Maio said of the lowest range of punishment her client faced. “I think Mr. McReynolds has a good deal of potential, but he was only on the streets very briefly before he could make a life.”
Prosecutor Neff countered that McReynolds only faced a gun-related charge in federal court but was arrested for numerous reckless endangerment, resisting authorities and speeding charges in state court. Prosecutors dismissed all of them in March, a month before McReynolds pleaded guilty to his federal indictment. Neff said McReynolds was an alleged gang member who was caught possessing drugs while in custody at CoreCivic this spring. Neff didn’t, however, use that evidence to increase his punishment at Friday’s sentencing hearing.
Judge McDonough, in an impassioned speech, said he was trying to empathize with McReynolds but said the 25-year-old had more work to do.
“Cases like this are hard,” he said. “I don’t think anybody in this room thinks you’re a bad person. But you’re making some decisions. You probably intend to use that ammunition to do anything bad. But you put yourself in that situation.”