On a June afternoon in 2020, a dispute between coworkers at a Clarksville, Tennessee, construction site turned deadly, ending the life of 42-year-old Christopher Bumpus. The white male was working at a developing site near Reda Drive and Allie Kay Way on June 4, 2020, when an argument erupted with his 25-year-old colleague, Richard Bernard Nolton. The disagreement, reportedly over a pair of Apple AirPods, escalated with tragic swiftness.
During the heated exchange, Nolton allegedly
produced a firearm and shot Bumpus once in the upper chest. Law enforcement and emergency personnel arrived at the scene around 2:20 p.m. to find Christopher Bumpus deceased from the gunshot wound. Witnesses at the construction site quickly identified Nolton as the shooter, leading to his prompt arrest.
Following his arrest, Richard Bernard Nolton was charged with criminal homicide. In speaking with investigators, Nolton admitted to firing the weapon that killed his coworker. He also disclosed that he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time due to a condition of his release related to a prior domestic assault charge. Nolton was subsequently booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond on the homicide charge.
