On a grim December evening in Norfolk, Virginia, a dispute outside a soul food restaurant escalated into a fatal encounter that claimed the life of 47-year-old Thomas L. Christian. The night of December 11, 2019, ended with Christian suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, alone in his vehicle which had rolled to a stop across East Princess Anne Road. First responders who arrived at the scene near Shelton Avenue around 10:15 p.m.
found him deceased.
The investigation into the homicide led police to 34-year-old Jermaine A. Tucker. Investigators determined that an argument between Christian and Tucker, a known member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang, was the precursor to the deadly shooting. Witnesses reported that after the initial argument, Christian walked away but then returned with a firearm. Despite a friend's attempt to de-escalate the volatile situation, Tucker retrieved his own handgun from his vehicle and opened fire on Christian's car as he was trying to drive away.
In the days following the shooting, Norfolk police arrested Tucker and charged him with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A woman was also charged with being an accessory after the fact in connection with the incident. In November 2021, a jury found Jermaine A. Tucker guilty of the charges against him. He was subsequently sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 17 years suspended for the murder charge, and an additional three years for the firearm charge. Tucker had a prior criminal record, including a conviction for armed robbery in 2005.
