Moises Zarate Zamarripa, 37, a Hispanic man, was killed on March 18, 2014, outside a home on Oakwood Forest Drive in Antioch, Tennessee, in what police described as a robbery attempt that unfolded in seconds and ended in chaos.
That night, he and a cousin were outside unloading items from a vehicle when two masked, armed men approached. One attacker seized Zarate from behind, clamping down and turning the moment into a struggle, while the second gunman trained a weapon on the cousin and
threatened to shoot. The cousin bolted for help, and as he ran, a gunshot cracked through the neighborhood. By the time anyone could get back to Zarate, the assailants were already fleeing.
A neighbor later told investigators she heard what sounded like a sharp backfire, followed by screaming, and saw two people jump into a light-colored compact car and speed away. Inside the home, Zarate’s brother heard the shouts about a robbery and the terror in the yard; when he got outside, Zarate was on the ground, breathing hard and struggling. A 911 call went out around 9:30 p.m., but Zarate died before an ambulance could arrive.
As the investigation widened, detectives traced a trail through surveillance footage and tracking data that mapped the suspects’ movements before and after the shooting. Court records describe a small group together that day—Quintavious Montez Patton, Donte Ricardo Swanier Patton’s girlfriend Diana Reyes, and Patton’s cousin Rayvon Walker—moving through ordinary places that now looked like stepping-stones: a car wash, a Shell station, a K-Mart, and a Knights Inn near Bell Road. Investigators used a GPS tracking device placed on Swanier’s silver Hyundai, along with phone records and video, and testified that the vehicle was within roughly eighty yards of the shooting location at about 9:25 p.m., consistent with the timeline of the 911 call and the quick getaway described by witnesses.
In court, Walker testified that a plan formed to rob someone so the group could get money for a place to stay, and that Patton and Walker got out of the car to confront two men in a yard. According to Walker, he grabbed Zarate and the two struggled; Patton ordered Zarate to let go, and when he did not, Patton fired. Walker and Patton ran back to Swanier’s car, returned the gun, and the group moved on—back to the Knights Inn, then to other stops along Bell Road—leaving behind a scene that quickly became a homicide investigation. A medical examiner later testified that Zarate bled to death from gunshot wounds to the arm and chest; the external exam noted five gunshot wounds—four to the left arm and one to the chest—with findings indicating a single bullet’s path could explain the multiple entries and exits.
The first major break brought an arrest in late May 2014: Nashville police reported taking Rayvon Walker into custody at school after a juvenile court petition and arrest order were issued, describing him as a Nashville high school student arrested for the March 18 murder during the apparent robbery attempt outside Zarate’s home. Detectives initially indicated additional arrests were expected as the case continued to develop.
Those additional arrests followed. In the months after the killing, Patton and Swanier were arrested and ultimately prosecuted in Davidson County for their roles. A grand jury indicted the defendants for first degree felony murder and attempted robbery offenses, and Patton was additionally charged with first degree premeditated murder. At trial, jurors convicted Patton of first degree felony murder, voluntary manslaughter, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and attempted aggravated robbery; they convicted Swanier of first degree felony murder, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and attempted aggravated robbery. Both received life sentences, and the convictions were affirmed on appeal.
