On a Friday evening in Clarksville, Tennessee, the life of 53-year-old Ray Charles Nelson was cut short by gunfire. The shooting occurred on November 10, 2017, near Chapel Street. When police responded to a 'shots fired' call around 5:30 p.m., they discovered Nelson with gunshot wounds. He was quickly transported to the emergency room at Tennova Healthcare, but tragically, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
For several years, the case remained a persistent effort for
Clarksville Police detectives as they followed available leads to bring justice for Nelson's death. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, investigators released a surveillance video that appeared to show three men standing near a car, hoping the public could help identify them.
A significant break in the cold case came in April 2021, when a Montgomery County Grand Jury returned indictments for three men, charging them with the murder of Ray Charles Nelson. The suspects were identified as Zemarcus Shatwan Ligon, Antonio Nathan Bafford, and Ramone Pierre Gholston. All three were charged with premeditated first-degree murder. At the time of the indictments, Bafford and Gholston were already incarcerated on other charges, and Ligon was taken into custody. Ramone Gholston faced an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
At the time of the arrests, the investigation into the death of Ray Charles Nelson was still considered ongoing. Information regarding the trials, potential convictions, and sentences for the three men charged has not been made publicly available in the years following their arrests.
