In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 16, 2025, the life of 25-year-old Rodrell Jeter was tragically cut short in a shooting on I-640 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Jeter, a male from Detroit, Michigan, was traveling with his 33-year-old cousin, Troy Hutchison of Atlanta, Georgia, and a 22-year-old man, also from Detroit. The group was reportedly on their way from Detroit to Atlanta when the fatal incident occurred.
The tranquility of the morning was shattered around 3:40 a.m.
near Gap Road when shots were fired inside their rental vehicle, a light-colored Ford Bronco. Both Rodrell Jeter and Troy Hutchison were killed in the shooting. The third man in the vehicle sustained critical injuries but survived. Following the incident, the suspect fled the scene, heading west on I-640 in the Bronco. The rental vehicle, which had Michigan license plates, was later found abandoned in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.
An exhaustive investigation by the Knoxville Police Department's Homicide Unit, which included numerous interviews and a review of cellphone records, led to the identification of a suspect. Multiple anonymous tips to East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers also aided in the investigation. In late November 2025, a Knox County grand jury indicted Dashonn Moten, of Detroit, Michigan, in connection with the murders of Jeter and Hutchison.
Moten faces a 17-count indictment that includes two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of felony murder. Additionally, he is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder for the injuries sustained by the third victim. Authorities believe Moten, who has no prior criminal history in Knox County, is in the Detroit area, and the U.S. Marshals Service has been asked to assist in his apprehension. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, though family members of the victims have stated they believe the men were trying to help the suspect, and that act of kindness ultimately led to their deaths. Rodrell Jeter was a father to a young son.
