On a Saturday night in Springfield, Tennessee, a burst of gunfire shattered the evening calm, leaving a young man from Gallatin dead. Joseph Sharkley, a 24-year-old male, was fatally wounded on March 22, 2014, while he was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee at a market on Central Avenue. He was accompanied by two women, also from Gallatin, when an assailant opened fire on their vehicle.
Multiple shots were fired, with at least one round penetrating the back window and striking Sharkley in the upper body. The driver of the Jeep sped away from the scene, coming to a stop a few blocks away on Childress Street, but it was too late for Sharkley, who died from his injuries inside the vehicle. The two female occupants were not physically harmed in the shooting.
The Springfield Police Department quickly began an investigation, and their attention soon focused on a person of interest. Within a few days, they had identified a suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. Darius D. Hyde, a 24-year-old from Springfield, was named as the alleged shooter. The case gained further attention when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation added Hyde to its Top Ten Most Wanted list, noting his previous criminal history which included charges of Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault, and Evading Arrest. Authorities considered him to be armed and dangerous and offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
The manhunt for Hyde came to a close on the evening of March 25, 2014. Just hours after being placed on the TBI's most-wanted list, Darius D. Hyde surrendered to authorities. He turned himself in at the Robertson County Detention Facility and was taken into custody without incident. Hyde was subsequently charged with Criminal Homicide in connection with the death of Joseph Sharkley and was held without bond.
