Christopher Cheeks, a 32-year-old Black man from California, was a rapper known as Chris King who was building a life in music. His father, Chris Cheeks Sr., described him as a “young, vibrant kid that just lit up the room when he walked in.” A friend of prominent musicians like Justin Bieber and Trippie Redd, he was in Nashville, Tennessee, to perform at a festival in April 2024.
His father recalled his son staying by his bedside after he had open-heart surgery just weeks before his death, telling him, “Dad I don’t know what I would do without you.”
In the early hours of April 20, 2024, Christopher was with a group of friends in an alleyway between Hayes and Church Streets, outside a music studio. Around 2:30 a.m., three men approached and began interacting with the group. A 29-year-old friend who was with Christopher later told police that the interaction was cordial for some time before the three men suddenly attempted to rob them. Gunfire erupted, and the group scattered. Christopher and his 29-year-old friend were both struck. The injured friend was found on Church Street and taken to a hospital for treatment. Christopher was found in the parking garage of the nearby Hayes Street Hotel and was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Homicide Unit began an investigation that quickly led to the identification of a suspect. Detectives issued a criminal homicide warrant for Adrian Cameron Jr., who was 19 at the time. Police reported that Cameron Jr. was already out on bond for a 2021 murder and was required to wear an ankle monitor as a condition of his release. Data from the device showed it was cut off shortly after the shooting.
In February 2025, detectives arrested a second suspect, 19-year-old Amir Carroll, a known associate of Cameron Jr. Carroll was taken into custody on an 11-count grand jury indictment that included charges of first-degree premeditated murder, especially aggravated robbery, and felony weapon possession. Over the following year, investigators also apprehended Adrian Cameron Jr. and a third suspect, Trayvon Palmer.
The investigation culminated in May 2026 with the arrest of a fourth and final suspect. On May 5, detectives with the TITANS Unit arrested 21-year-old Jason Valentine during a traffic stop. He was wanted on a multi-count indictment charging him with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and gun offenses. As of May 2026, all four men—Amir Carroll, 20, Adrian Cameron Jr., 21, Trayvon Palmer, 33, and Jason Valentine, 21—remain jailed in Nashville on first-degree murder charges related to the death of Christopher Cheeks.
