Antonio Espey Jr. biography: 10 things about Chattanooga, Tennessee man

Antonio Dejong Espey Jr. is an American man from Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. At around 9:35 a.m. on May 19, 2011, wearing all black, he allegedly walked into Big K Market on 909 Dodson Avenue in Chattanooga and fatally shot Herbert Lee Strickland, 53, of Chattanooga.
2. Shortly after Strickland’s fatal shooting on May 19, 2011, police interviewed witnesses including Barbara Louise Johnson, then 43, and showed a photo lineup to then but no one could identify the shooter. Later, however, Johnson told police she saw a man she thought looked like him enter the crime scene that day, heard gunshots and saw him leave but did not see a gun.
3. On September 22, 2011, fugitive investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshalls Service took him into custody without incident on Dayton Boulevard in Chattanooga. He was charged with first-degree murder for Strickland’s death.
4. After hearing Johnson’s testimony, police searched his residence and collected clothing and a hat, which were sent to Tennessee’s crime lab. No gunshot residue was not found on the clothing. At 4:15 a.m. on July 6, 2012, Johnson was fatally shot while walking on Rawlings Street in Chattanooga
5. On August 24, 2012, he was released on bond pending trial.
6. On May 23, 2013, a prosecutor dismissed the first-degree charges against him without prejudice, which means he could be charged again if new evidence is uncovered. Video and photographs presented at court were not clear enough to make a positive identification. He was represented by Dan Ripper.
7. On April 6, 2014, he, Roger Bell, then 24, and Robert Allen, 20, overdosed on 3, 4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine (MDMA), also known as ecstasy. He and Bell survived while Allen died.
8. On March 8, 2022, a Hamilton County grand jury returned an indictment against him for murder.
9. On March 9, 2022, he was at a City of Chattanooga Public Works building when he was taken into custody without incident for the murder of Strickland.
10. He was 27 years old when he was arrested on March 9, 2022. On November 7, 2022, his bond was set at $75,000.