In the late hours of a warm Nashville evening, the life of 36-year-old Reginald Ford was tragically cut short in an act of violence outside his own home. On August 6, 2015, Ford was the victim of a fatal shooting that occurred during an attempted robbery at his residence on Hermosa Street. The incident unfolded just after midnight, shattering the peace of the neighborhood and leaving a family devastated. His wife, Cheressa Miller, recalled hearing banging noises around that time.
Her son then ran into her room to tell her that his father had been shot. Rushing outside, she found her husband lying on his back with one foot still inside his car, having sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into the death of Reginald Ford led Metro Nashville Police to identify four suspects in the case. Rolandus Denzmore, who was 20 at the time, 23-year-old Davonta Sherrill, and 21-year-old Demontez Watkins were taken into custody in connection with the murder. A fourth suspect, Troyvonte Watkins, 22, was later apprehended following a traffic stop. An officer on Ellington Parkway pulled over a weaving Nissan Altima and discovered that the driver, Troyvonte Watkins, had an outstanding murder warrant for the shooting of Ford. A search of his vehicle revealed a loaded pistol, and upon his booking at the Davidson County Jail, 45 Xanax bars were found concealed on his person.
The prosecution of the individuals charged in Reginald Ford's murder brought some measure of justice for his family. Demontez Watkins stood trial for his involvement in the crime. A critical piece of evidence presented by the prosecution was DNA mixture data collected from the pockets of Ford's khaki pants. Although the initial analysis by the Metro Nashville Police Department Crime Laboratory was inconclusive due to the complexity of the data, a subsequent analysis using more advanced technology provided a significant breakthrough. This specialized analysis established a strong link between the DNA evidence and Demontez Watkins.
In a Davidson County courtroom, a jury heard the details of the case against Demontez Watkins. Testimonies included that of a DNA analyst who explained the probabilistic genotyping results that connected Watkins to the crime scene. On March 29, 2019, the jury found Demontez Watkins guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, and weapons charges. Following the conviction, the court merged the first-degree felony murder and second-degree murder convictions, imposing an effective sentence of life plus twenty-seven years in prison.
