On a late December afternoon in Lexington, Kentucky, the life of 25-year-old De'Ontai Jarrell Bates was tragically cut short. On December 29, 2016, Bates was a passenger in an SUV, accompanied by his mother's boyfriend and another man they had recently picked up near Russell Cave Road. The vehicle was parked on a gravel driveway in the 700 block of Faulkner Avenue when a shot rang out, striking Bates in the chest.
Despite being rushed to the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital,
De'Ontai Jarrell Bates succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival. The third man in the vehicle fled the scene immediately after the shooting, prompting a search by Lexington police, which included the use of a K-9 unit. The victim's mother's boyfriend, who was also present, remained at the scene and was taken in for questioning by authorities.
The investigation into the death of De'Ontai Bates led to a suspect being identified as Brian Lamar Jones. In January 2017, Jones, 30, turned himself in to the police after a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was subsequently charged with the murder of Bates. However, the case took a turn in March of that year when a Fayette County grand jury dismissed the murder charge against him.
While the murder charge was dismissed, the grand jury indicted Jones on charges of tampering with evidence and possession of marijuana. The indictment alleged that Jones had concealed, removed, or altered physical evidence, specifically a gun, on or around the day of the shooting. The tampering with evidence charge is a felony, carrying a potential prison sentence of one to five years. No further information regarding other suspects or arrests in connection with the death of De'Ontai Jarrell Bates has been made publicly available.
