In the early morning of June 19, 2019, Robert Gill, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Around 6:11 a.m., police responded to a call and found Gill unresponsive in a driveway in the 3200 block of South Street. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators pieced together Gill’s last hours using witness testimony and electronic data.
Security footage from the Bayberry Apartments showed Gill with two other men, one later identified as 24-year-old Javonte Wynn, getting out of a red Pontiac G6 shortly before 3:30 a.m. The three were seen getting back into the car and driving away at approximately 5:17 a.m. A witness told police she had been with Gill before he left with the two men. She said Gill returned to her location, and sometime between 4 and 5 a.m., Wynn and the other man came back and rushed Gill to leave with them again.
A crucial account came from a woman who was on the phone with Gill between 5:21 a.m. and 5:31 a.m. During their conversation, she heard two other voices in the background. Then, she heard six or seven gunshots before the line went silent. She was unable to reach Gill again. Neighbors also reported hearing gunshots around that time. Police later located the red Pontiac and found fingerprints belonging to Gill, Wynn, and the second man inside the vehicle.
Using data from Gill's phone, investigators identified the phone numbers of Wynn and the other man. Warrants for their location data revealed that both men were in the area of the shooting at 5:30 a.m. Records showed the second man left the vicinity by 5:36 a.m., but Wynn remained at the scene. Based on this evidence, police arrested Javonte Wynn and charged him with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony. His bond was set at $150,000. The second man was never charged.
Approximately seven months after the shooting, in early 2020, the charges against Javonte Wynn were dismissed. As of that time, there were no active charges in the case. Robert Gill's murder remains unsolved. The Chattanooga Police Department asks anyone with information to call the homicide tip line at 423-643-5100 or submit a tip through the CPD Mobile App.
