CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Eric Lamar Caffey was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Wednesday for the 2020 murder of 42-year-old Christopher Young.
In the early morning hours of May 13, 2020, Clarksville Police were dispatched to the 2800 block of Cobalt Drive due to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting. Police found Young hanging out of his SUV with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Witnesses told police a man had approached Young’s SUV and said, “Give me your (expletive)!” before hitting Young in the face multiple times and then pulling out a pistol and shooting him several times.
In August 2020, the Montgomery County grand jury indicted Caffey and Amber Lynn Tanner, 26, of Hanceville, Alabama, on charges of murder and aggravated robbery.
In September 2022, Caffey was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was acquitted on the aggravated robbery charge.
Melanie Petalas, Young’s mother, took the stand at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Petalas said she woke up at 12:30 a.m. to gunshots and heard her son yell, “Someone help me!” She said her son was unable to defend himself due to his weight.
Caffey also testified Wednesday, and he denied killing Young, despite the guilty verdict. Caffey said he “never chilled with him, never had a conversation with him.”
“Is it really reasonable to take a chunk of someone’s life if you don’t know if they did the crime?” Caffey said, adding that there were no fingerprints, weapons or security footage at the crime scene.
Assistant District Attorney Mike Pugh said during a trial held on Sept. 20 that Young’s blood was found on the inside driver’s door handle of Tanner’s car. Pugh said other evidence placing Caffey near the scene was video surveillance footage at a Shell Station just down the road.
Caffey was sentenced by Judge William Goodman. He will have to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.