CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Jillian Neves and a group of family and friends watched as a mass of balloons drifted into the blue twilight sky on Saturday, July 25.
Tears flowed as they said their symbolic goodbyes to Jillian’s 17-year-old son, Justin Neves, who was shot and killed by a family friend on April 10.
Three months later, no arrest has been made.
The memorial for Justin was an emotional first step in his mother’s process of grieving his death and fighting for her call for justice.
“Saturday was a testament to how much Justin was loved and how he’s a huge part of the community,” Jillian Neves said. “We were unable to have a funeral because of the limitations due to COVID-19. The balloon release was awe-inspiring.”
Neve’s grief is tinged with anger, though, both at the shooter and at the lack of results so far from the police investigation.
“We all have anger … I’m devastated, that I will never see him grow into the man he was becoming. I will never see my son get married, have babies, graduate … his milestones were stolen from me.”
Justin was a junior at Northwest High School. He was in the EMT Program, and he ran track for the school’s team.
Phone call and a frantic drive
Justin left for work on April 10, to work with a longtime family friend doing home improvement and appraisals.
Minutes before Justin’s 9:30 p.m. curfew, Jillian Neves got a frantic call from her then-best friend saying there had been an accident with a gun.
Jillian Neves sped to the family friend’s home on Danielle Drive, not knowing what she’d find. She frantically tried to run into the house to see her son.
“I slammed my car in park. The cop caught me as I ran to get in the house. He said I can’t go in there. I told him I needed to see my son. The cop said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you your son is dead.'”
The anguish that covered Jillian in that second created a blank in her memory of what happened next. She remembers not being able to drive, her mother coming to get her, and phone calls to her family and friends breaking the news.
Versions of what happened
While what exactly led to Justin’s death isn’t clear, a Clarksville Police incident report obtained by Clarksville Now said that at 9:22 that night, police responded to a shooting that had already occurred.
“I made contact with the victim, a 17-year-old male who had a gunshot wound to the head,” the officer’s report said. “When EMS arrived on scene, they pronounced the 17-year-old deceased.”
Police Detective Mike Ulrey was assigned to investigate.
Justin Neves’ death certificate, obtained by Clarksville Now, lists his manner of death as a homicide and the cause as gunshot wound to the head. It also states his body was sent for an autopsy.
Neves has continued to question how the shooting happened, why it happened, and why the shooter hasn’t been arrested or held accountable. Clarksville Now is not providing the man’s name because charges have not been filed.
She’s heard multiple versions about what happened to her son.
“First, he said Justin was playing with the gun, and when he took it away, it went off,” Neves said. “He says it wasn’t his fault and blames Justin. They even tested Justin for gunshot residue and there was none. Then, he says he was cleaning the gun and it went off and it was accident. He’s turned around and told many stories since then.”
But Jillian questions those stories because of both her son’s and the shooter’s knowledge of guns.
“Justin knew gun safety. My brother’s a corrections officer and an avid gun collector. His grandfather is a hunter. He’s been through safety courses. He knew not to play with a gun,” she said.
And the shooter previously worked in corrections, she said.
“Nothing makes sense in this case. They didn’t even drug test (him) or give him a breathalyzer,” Neves said.
Pushing for answers
Neves said she’s asked many questions of CPD and the District Attorney’s Office and even hired her own lawyer.
Clarksville Now reached out to Clarksville Police with several questions.
“The case is still under investigation; a press release and information will be provided upon completion of the investigation,” according to CPD spokeswoman Sgt. Fontella Jones.
Neves also asked to hear the 911 call made the night of the shooting. She was told by police that the call would only bring her more pain.
A request to the E-911 Center by Clarksville Now for the 911 call from the night of the shooting was denied.
“In reference to the request for a shooting call on Danielle Drive, per our attorney I am not authorized to release it because it involves a juvenile,” according to Shane Givens, B.A., assistant director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County E911.
Jillian said she did receive a phone call from the detective letting her know that the case may be presented to the grand jury, in which case, the proceedings will be secret.
She’s also met with a representative at the District Attorney’s Office, who told her what the options were.
“The assistant district attorney said three options … 1. General Sessions. 2. Wait for the grand jury for (up to) one year since they are backlogged, and 3. Have him do a direct statement, plead guilty to reckless homicide, and he’ll get probation,” she said.
The probation would be because this was the shooter’s first incident with criminal charges.
“His first incident killed my son,” Neves said. “My son was my best friend. For 17 years, it was just me and him, ride or die. He was a cross country star, he had a scholarship in Indiana to track and field. Then he killed him, and everything went away.”
Neves said she will continue fighting for justice and asking questions. She hopes an arrest will be made soon.
“I just want his story told,” Neves said. “Justin’s personality radiated. He was a good kid. He gave the best big hugs. He was a hard worker. He was a good student, good athlete. He was a good person.”
