On the night of February 7, 2024, at approximately 11:40 p.m., Tyler police officers responded to reports of a person lying on the road at the intersection of Highway 69 North and County Road 489. Upon arrival, they discovered 20-year-old Nathan Charles Martin, deceased from multiple gunshot wounds. Evidence at the scene, including fresh tire tracks suggesting a hurried U-turn, indicated that Martin had been shot and his vehicle stolen.
Shortly after the discovery of Martin's body, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office located an unoccupied, wrecked Ford Mustang at the intersection of FM 317 and FM 314. The vehicle was registered to Martin. Inside the car, investigators found blood and bullet holes in both the driver's seat and front passenger dash area, suggesting a violent struggle had occurred.
In the early hours of February 8, around 3 a.m., the Smith County Sheriff's Office received a report of a man entering a resident's vehicle near the crime scene. Deputies apprehended 25-year-old Joshua Renae Bryant, who claimed he believed the vehicle belonged to a friend. Upon searching Bryant, officers found substances suspected to be crack cocaine, ecstasy, and a scale. Bryant was arrested for burglary of a vehicle and possession of controlled substances.
During police interviews, Bryant admitted to being with Martin on the night of the murder. He stated that after visiting a smoke shop and a 7-Eleven, he began driving Martin's Mustang because Martin was tired. However, when questioned about the events leading to Martin's death, Bryant claimed to have "blacked out" and had no recollection of the incident.
Further investigation led authorities to identify a second suspect, 16-year-old Caleb Ward from Whitehouse. Ward was considered armed and dangerous, and a directive to apprehend him on a capital murder charge was issued. On February 16, Ward was arrested in Anderson County without incident and booked into the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center.
Both Bryant and Ward faced capital murder charges in connection with Nathan Martin's death. Bryant's bond was set at $1,079,000, covering multiple charges including capital murder, burglary of vehicles, and possession of controlled substances. The arrests brought some measure of closure to the tragic incident that claimed the life of the young Tyler resident.
