In the late hours of a Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, 16-year-old Jawaun Cleo Jones was riding his skateboard along Antioch Pike. It was just after 11 p.m. on July 6, 2024, when his path was fatefully crossed by three individuals. An encounter that began for unknown reasons quickly escalated into a physical altercation. In the midst of the struggle, a pistol that had been in Jawaun's possession was dropped.
The chaos of the moment saw one of the three individuals retrieve the
fallen handgun. A single shot rang out in the night, and Jawaun, now wounded, fled a short distance before collapsing on the lawn of a nearby business. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene. In the immediate aftermath, the three individuals who had confronted him vanished on foot, disappearing into the darkness.
Homicide detectives began an investigation, piecing together the events of that tragic night by reviewing surveillance footage from the area. Their investigation led them to seek a person of interest seen on camera hopping a business fence near the scene of the shooting. Community assistance was requested in identifying this individual.
The investigation progressed, and on the morning of August 7, 2024, South Precinct officers on patrol recognized a man walking on Antioch Pike as the person of interest. The man, identified as 29-year-old Misael Garcia, admitted his involvement in the incident. During an interview with detectives, Garcia claimed that he had shot Jawaun in self-defense. He was subsequently arrested and charged with evidence tampering after admitting to discarding the pistol following the fatal shooting. The claim of self-defense remains under investigation by both the Metro Nashville Police Department and the District Attorney's Office.
