Jose Napolean Garcia

Jose Napolean Garcia, a 23-year-old White man, stepped out of a Nashville club just after 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2008, following an argument that ended the night abruptly. Alone, he started walking home through the quiet hours before dawn, moving along Denson Avenue as the city thinned to empty streets and scattered porch lights.

Near 832 Denson Avenue, the walk turned violent. According to the account preserved by Metro Nashville Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, ...