On a Sunday morning in Hermitage, Tennessee, the life of 19-year-old Anthoney Barksdale was tragically cut short. On November 19, 2023, Barksdale was at an apartment complex on Oakwell Farms Lane when a gunman ambushed him. The assailant opened fire as Barksdale arrived at one of the apartment buildings, chasing him to the front door and continuing to shoot as he tried to escape the violent attack. Officers who responded to the scene found Barksdale in a bedroom within the apartment, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old woman was also injured during the shooting but her injuries were not life-threatening, and she was later released from the hospital.
The investigation into the targeted shooting was led by Detective Kevin Guyton of the Metro Nashville Police Department. A significant piece of evidence in the case came from a neighbor's Ring doorbell camera, which captured the masked gunman during the attack. After months of investigation, authorities identified 27-year-old Nakelvious Featherston as the primary suspect in Barksdale's murder. On May 29, 2024, detectives with the Specialized Investigations Division TITANS unit arrested Featherston without incident at an apartment complex in West Nashville.
Nakelvious Featherston, a convicted felon with a history of aggravated burglary, facilitating attempted aggravated robbery, and evading arrest, was on probation at the time of the shooting. Following his arrest, a grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder for the death of Anthoney Barksdale. At the time of his arrest for the murder, Featherston also had pending charges from a January 2024 incident for aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is currently being held at the Davidson County Downtown Detention Center in Nashville. The case against him is pending in the criminal justice system.
