CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Day 2 in the jury trial of a man charged with murder in the death of a Walmart employee brought eyewitness testimony, a K-9 fetching a stolen gun and some country music lyrics.
On March 1, 2021, at about 11:54 p.m., Clarksville Police responded to shots fired at the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Campbell Boulevard. They found 55-year-old William “Billy” Eakes Jr., a Walmart maintenance employee, lying on the ground at the entrance, unresponsive. Eakes died from his injuries. Christopher Clark was found in the area and charged with first-degree murder.
Here are three takeaways from testimony in the first two days of trial.
1. ‘Hotter than a $2 pistol’
About 30 minutes before the shots were fired, police responded to a different phone call in a nearby neighborhood. The caller was a woman named Miranda Foy, who was reporting that her cousin had stolen her gun while she was putting her kids to bed. “His name is Christopher Glenn Clark, and he just stole my pistol and three clips out of my safe,” Foy can be heard telling the 911 operator.
In court, Foy told the jury she had bought the .380 semi-automatic pistol from her neighbor, a man she called “Pops.”
Gregory Smith, Clark’s attorney, pointed out to the jury that Foy had a criminal record that included making a false report.
“I never lied to the police,” Foy told Smith during cross-examination. She said the false report incident happened during a time when a medical issue led her to believe someone was trying to kill her and she called 911.
“Pops,” otherwise known as Charles Carmen Jr., took the stand to testify, and Smith questioned his decision to sell Foy the gun. He asked Pops if he knew the George Jones lyric, “hotter than a $2 pistol” from “The One I Loved Back Then.” Cheap or low-quality firearms were sometimes called $2 pistols.
2. K9 Arlo fetches gun
Andrew Trescott, former CPD K-9 handler, testified about his working dog’s search efforts on March 1, 2022. Arlo, a now-retired German Shepherd police K-9, was deployed in the Walmart parking lot to try to pick up a scent after witnesses said they saw the suspect flee.
A few minutes later, Arlo found the trail and led his handler toward the wood line behind Planet Fitness, where Trescott let go of the leash to let Arlo work.
A moment after, Trescott recalled hearing a “clacking” noise. When he recalled Arlo, he could see the dog was holding something in his mouth. Upon further inspection, Trescott realized the object was a gun.
Later, paperwork and the serial number would identify the handgun as the same one stolen from Foy and previously owned by Carmen.
Eyewitnesses and surveillance footage
The state brought in five eyewitnesses, including late-night shoppers, employees and a man who was waiting on his fiancee to finish her shift.
Kenneth McGilvery, the overnight manager and Eakes’ supervisor, testified that the night of the shooting, Eakes had come in to work an extra shift. It was during the COVID pandemic, and the hours for the store were limited. Walmart had closed at 11 p.m., and no customers should have been inside.
An associate notified McGilvery that a customer was in the store, so he, Eakes, and another manager casually followed the man through the self-checkout area, intending to let him know they were closed.
He said one of the employees got a call on a walkie-talkie about everyone taking a break since it was almost midnight. McGilvery went to the register to buy cigarettes while Eakes went out the front door for his break, moments after the customer left.
Outside the store, Bryson Grover, a night shift Walmart employee, was in the parking lot gathering grocery carts when he saw a man in a red hoodie walk out, followed by Eakes.
Across the parking lot, Lynn Arno had finished shopping and was sitting in her car on her phone when she saw someone in a red hoodie walking out of the store, followed by an employee. Suddenly, shots were fired.
Jenna White, her brother, and her friend Marjorie Vargas were sitting in their vehicles talking when the shots rang out. What started as a quick trip to buy kitty litter and cat food turned into a desperate 911 call as Jenna raced toward Eakes and tried to render first aid.
Jadan Buchanan was in his car waiting for his fiancee to finish her shift at Walmart when the suspect in a red hoodie fled. Buchanan said the man stopped right behind his car, allowing him to get a closer look before the man took off running again.
The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday morning at the Montgomery County Courts Center.