CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As Day 4 of the trial concluded for Jaelyn Gant, charged with the 2020 murder and armed robbery of an employee at a Chinese restaurant, the jury heard testimony from over 30 witnesses, including experts in DNA and firearms, and from Gant himself.
On Dec. 2, 2020, at approximately 12:45 p.m., officers responded to the King Mao Chinese restaurant on Needmore Road where an armed robbery resulted in the death of an employee, 28-year-old Seth Stephens. The suspect fled and remained at large for almost two years.
An investigation by the Clarksville Police Special Operations Homicide Unit, with the assistance of the Joliet (Illinois) Police Department, led to the identification of Jaelyn Deon Gant as the suspect. Gant, who had been in custody in Illinois on unrelated charges, was extradited from the Western Illinois Correctional Center to the Montgomery County Jail on Nov. 9, 2022.
1. Evidence abandoned in car wreck
In the early hours of Jan. 15, 2021, Gant drove his girlfriend at the time, Wilmarie Rivera, to work in Illinois. After he dropped her off, he took her gray Kia Sorento into nearby Kankakee. Later, she got a phone call from Gant, who told her that he had an accident and that her car was upside down in a field. Gant sent her a picture of the wrecked car.
Illinois law enforcement arrived and picked through the abandoned wreck to try to find out who it belonged to. They found a silver revolver on the roof of the car, a cell phone and a greeting card signed “Jae.”
After the Kia was transported to the evidence motor pool, detectives found a black hoodie with a large white “Champions” logo. On the phone they found several internet searches for “Clarksville, Tennessee shooting on Dec. 2, 2020.” When they saw the suspect’s photo attached to the resulting Clarksville Now articles, they recognized the hoodie and called CPD.
2. DNA and mechanical fingerprint
CPD Detective Keenan Carlton arrived in Illinois in 2021 after receiving a search warrant to get DNA from Gant, who had since been arrested on the unrelated charges. Carlton entered the Illinois Jail and explained to Gant that he needed to collect a saliva sample.
“He became uncooperative,” Carlton said. “With the assistance of several deputies, he was restrained with cuffs. I attempted to get the first swab, at which point he kind of lunged forward and bit the stick of the swab.”
Carlton was able to collect one swab from Gant and send it off for testing. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation forensic biology expert witness Militza Kennedy determined that the swab from the revolver’s trigger guard and the black hoodie were a match for Gant.
Connor Lamberson, an expert witness in firearms and tool marks identification with TBI, examined the revolver found in the wreck. He said it matched the bullet removed from the victim’s pelvis.
3. Google history
A phone found at the scene of the crash, and another phone obtained by police revealed a picture of the overturned car, as well as a video of Gant holding a silver revolver.
The Google search history on the phone included: “clarksville tn shooting” and “clarksville tn shooting dec. 2, 2020.”
When Gant was arrested by Illinois authorities, they obtained a second phone with additional browser history: “clarksville tn shooting;” “clarksville tn shooting dec. 2, 2020;” and “seth stephens.” Gant visited Clarksville Now’s website multiple times to review the articles about the shooting.
4. ‘I don’t have anything to hide’
On the witness stand, Gant said, “I don’t have anything to hide from anyone about this matter.”
Gant explained he had been having relationship issues with his girlfriend in Illinois during the days leading up to the shooting, and as a result, he joined his sister on a trip she had planned to Clarksville. However, Gant and his sister had an estranged relationship, and no sooner had they arrived did the arguments start.
On Dec. 2, 2020, Gant and his sister returned to Illinois after a particularly nasty argument. He said his sister dropped him off at his girlfriend’s house and left. Much later, his sister told him about one of her friends in Clarksville trying to get rid of a gun and offering to sell it. Gant asked her to buy it for him, and not long after she did, the gun made its way to Illinois and into Gant’s possession.
He said he didn’t realize until after he had it that the revolver was a “hot gun.”
The trial resumes Friday morning with jury deliberation.
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