In the early hours of May 5, 2020, the life of 27-year-old Layla Clair Wilson Long was tragically cut short in a deadly shooting at the Clem Jones Housing Complex on Walker Street in Athens, Tennessee. A lifetime resident of McMinn County, Layla was a member of the East Athens Baptist Church. She was a creative and artistic individual who found joy in picking flowers and making arrangements, and she also had a passion for playing basketball.
On that Tuesday morning, at approximately
12:15 a.m., Athens police officers responded to a call about a shooting at an apartment in the housing complex. Upon their arrival, they discovered two victims. One, a man named Tremon Hall, was treated for his injuries at a local medical center and subsequently released. Layla, however, was found unresponsive at the scene and could not be saved.
The investigation that followed pointed to a violent altercation involving multiple individuals. Authorities identified two suspects in connection with the fatal shooting: Johnathan Clayton of Riceville and Joseph Kibodeaux. Arrest warrants were issued for both men on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
On the Wednesday evening following the incident, the Athens Police Department's SWAT Team, with assistance from the Sweetwater Police Department and the Drug Task Force, located and apprehended Johnathan Clayton in Sweetwater. The second suspect, Joseph Kibodeaux, remained at large, and authorities sought help from the public to determine his whereabouts, cautioning that he might be armed and dangerous.
