Kaleb Bruce Wakefield, a 26-year-old male, tragically lost his life on January 4, 2020, in Cordova, Tennessee. Raised in Ooltewah, he was a graduate of Ooltewah High School, Chattanooga State College, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, holding a bachelor's degree in Business. At the time of his death, he was employed as an Industrial Engineering Specialist at UPS in Knoxville. Described by friends and family as happy-go-lucky, loving, and caring, he was known for his wonderful smile and his willingness to help others.
The incident that led to Wakefield's death unfolded in his own driveway. It began with a loud altercation at a neighboring residence. Following this disturbance, Kaleb Wakefield was shot. Emergency services transported him to a regional hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The investigation that followed identified two brothers, Chauncy and Timothy Black, as suspects in the fatal shooting. They were Wakefield's neighbors.
The investigation into Kaleb Wakefield's death led to the arrests of Chauncy and Timothy Black. They initially faced charges of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and tampering with evidence. The residence of the Black brothers had been a source of numerous complaints and law enforcement responses in the years leading up to the shooting, with hundreds of calls for service related to various disturbances and criminal activities.
Before he could stand trial, Timothy Black passed away from an illness in December of the same year. His brother, Chauncy Black, proceeded through the legal system. In a subsequent trial, Chauncy Black was not convicted of murder but was found guilty of reckless endangerment of Kaleb Wakefield and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon of another individual present at the scene. He was being held on a $100,000 bond following the initial charges. As a result of the ongoing criminal activity, the home of the Black brothers was eventually closed as a public nuisance.
