On a summer night in August 2020, a party in the 1100 block of Brewer Road in Somerville, Tennessee, turned into a scene of violence that would claim the life of 19-year-old Tavaris Contrell Lewis. Gunfire erupted at the gathering on August 23rd, and when the chaos subsided, Lewis, of Mason, was found dead from a gunshot wound. The shooting also left four other individuals, two men and two women, with injuries.
They were all transported to a Memphis hospital for treatment.
The Fayette County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, immediately launched a homicide investigation. Their efforts quickly led to the identification of several suspects. The day after the fatal shooting, authorities announced the arrests of Tomarcus Baskerville, Martavius Baskerville, Gregory Bonds, and Montaveen Taylor. These men were apprehended in Somerville without incident by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. During one of the arrests, a rifle and a handgun were seized. The initial charges for the four men were severe, including First Degree Murder, four counts of Attempted First Degree Murder, and five counts of Employment of a Firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
As the investigation continued, more individuals were implicated in the crime that ended Tavaris Lewis's life. By November 2020, a Fayette County Grand Jury returned indictments against a total of five men. In addition to the four initially arrested, Courtland Springfield and Thomas Smith Jr. were also charged. The indictments included charges of First Degree Murder and multiple counts of Attempted First Degree Murder with Bodily Injury, Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder, and Employing a Firearm During a Dangerous Felony.
The case expanded further in the following months. In March 2021, a sixth person, Deandra Rivers, was indicted on a charge of Tampering with Evidence, accused of attempting to dispose of evidence in the case. By July of that year, the charges against Rivers were upgraded to include First Degree Murder and Attempted First Degree Murder. A seventh individual, Bianca Jackson, was taken into custody in August 2021, nearly a year after the shooting. A Fayette County Grand Jury indicted her on charges of First Degree Murder, Attempted First Degree Murder with Bodily Injury, and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder, bringing the total number of people charged in connection with the deadly party to seven.
