The Nashville-Davidson County District Attorney’s Office pushed for, and received, an increased bond for Joshua Holly this week. He’s accused of threatening mass violence on several social media posts, as well as violence against women. His bond went from $5,000 to $75,000.
His next court date will be next week.
A Davidson County jury found 33-year-old Demarco Locust GUILTY of First Degree Premeditated Murder for the 2023 killing of 46-year-old Rezai Dashti.
It took the jury only 3 hours to find that Locust gunned down Dashti on Halloween, 2023, in a gas station parking lot along Harding Place after a dispute over territories related to drug sales. Locust was arrested a month later after a brief chase by Metro police that ended near Hillsboro Pike near I-440.
Congratulations to Division VI Assistant District Attorney Luis Casas, who served as First Chair, and Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter, serving as Second Chair for the prosecution. Also assisting in a successful prosecution were:
Investigator Steve Turner, who had to go find a key female witness who refused to show up on the first day of the trial.
Ethan Burns from our Finance Department, responsible for last minute scrambling to make accommodations for the witness.
Victim Witness Coordinator Nikanna Bell once again was attentive, professional, and compassionate in assisting the victim’s family.
With the conviction, Locust received an automatic life sentence. He was also convicted of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. His Sentencing on that charge will be in May.
Demarco Locust
February 28, 2025 –
Late Friday afternoon, a Davidson County Jury convicted defendant Jatecia Lake for the April, 2021 execution style murder of Patrick Washington. Lake was found Guilty of First Degree Premediated Murder, as well as Tampering with Evidence. The Premediated Murder conviction carries an automatic LIFE sentence, meaning Lake will spend at least 51 years behind bars. A sentencing hearing on the Tampering with Evidence charge will be held in April, and could result in even more time behind bars for Lake.
The Criminal Court Division VI jury deliberated only 3 hours before coming back with their verdicts. The victim’s family praised the work of MNPD detectives, along with the staff of the Nashville District Attorney’s office, which included a media analyst showcasing and explaining the massive amount of surveillance footage used for the prosecution. The testimony proved that Lake shot Washington in the back of the head at point blank range while in his car in an East Nashville parking lot on April 18, 2021, then drove to Kentucky and dumped his body along I-65. She then drove Patrick’s blood-soaked jeep back to Nashville, then ditching it on the side of the road, before walking back to her car.
The Division VI Prosecution team included Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter, Assistant District Attorney Luis Casas, Victim Witness Coordinator Nikanna Bell, Digital Specialist Alex Pendon, and Investigator Steve Turner.
Washington’s family says Justice was served, and they can finally have peace and celebrate their lost loved one.
Pictured Below:
Jatecia Lake following verdict Prosecution Team with Patrick Washington’s family Hugs from the victim’s family
February 27, 2025-
A Davidson County Jury returned a GUILTY verdict on the charge of First Degree Premeditated Murder against 27-year-old Ralph Nevels Jr. in the 2021 killing of 23-year-old Miguel Ontiveros.
It took the jury less than three hours to find Nevels guilty of the murder, which was reported by the media at the time as a road rage style shooting. Excellent work by Metro Police, however, revealed that Miguel Ontiveros and the defendant were actually feuding over a woman at the time. That feud resulted in the defendant pursuing the victim along Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville, then spraying his Hyundai Sonata with several rounds, killing the victim. The defendant, Nevels, was later located in Mt. Juliet, TN (just east of Nashville) and arrested.
Excellent work by the Nashville District Attorney’s office to gather experts, witnesses, and even the woman the two men were feuding over, to be part of the prosecution and successful outcome. The victim’s family was both relieved and overjoyed with the jury’s verdict, praising the work of prosecutors and the entire Nashville District Attorney’s office.
The Criminal Court Division I Prosecution Team included Assistant District Attorneys Chantley Frazier and Derick Blakely, along with Victim Witness Coordinator Cathy Harrison, Investigator Randy Martin, and Secretary Candace Felts.
With the conviction, Nevels received an automatic life sentence behind bars.
Victim: Miguel Ontiveros
A very relieved family with the Nashville Prosecution Team
Defendant Ralph Nevels, Jr. 
Albert Mustapha was found Guilty this month in the 2017 murder of a Nashville mother and her son. The Davidson County jury found Mustapha Guilty of TWO counts of First Degree Premediated Murder, TWO counts of First Degree Felony Murder, one count of Especially Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, and possession of a Dangerous Weapon during the Commission of a Dangerous Felony.
Congratulations to Division I Team Leader, Assistant District Attorney Wesley King, along with Assistant District Attorney Kendall Ponchillia, and the entire Division I team on a Guilty verdict on all 7 counts in a horrible double murder case from 2017.
General King describes the details of the case:
Albert Mustapha was charged, along with co-Defendants Kendre Shields and Chasitie Smith, with murdering a young man named Osmani Munongerwa and his mother Isha Musa in their home the evening of July 22, 2017. Mr. Munongerwa was shot multiple times in his upstairs bedroom and Ms. Musa was shot multiple times on the first floor at the foot of the stairs. Ms. Musa had left Somalia about 20 years before and Osmani was born shortly after in Kenya. Found in Ms. Musa’s bedroom were practice questions in anticipation of her upcoming American citizenship exam. Four TDOC inmates were called to testify at the trial. The trial had several unique moments, including a witness feigning a violent seizure on the witness stand and another witness who testified that he alone was responsible for the murders not Mr. Mustapha.
General King says A LOT of Praise goes out for the Teamwork to secure Justice in this case:
“Kendall Ponchillia insisted on joining the team a few days before trial and put in more work than there were hours from that point moving forward. The amount of work she poured into the case was monumental, handling numerous key witnesses and digital presentations with very little time to prepare. She delivered a blistering closing argument. Division I Secretary Candice Felts took care of all the rest of our cases all week, allowing us time to focus on the complexities and challenges of this trial. Digital Specialist Lili Wall was incredible dealing with numerous last second requests, including scrambling over to Court to assist with videos on the fly, fielding late night SOS requests, and becoming an active trial participant during closing argument. Investigator Randy Martin was clutch in securing witnesses and evidence. Assistant Director of Finance, Ethan Burns handled a very late request for an out-of-state witness that we had to have. And of course, Division I Victim Witness Coordinator Cathy Harrison was absolutely wonderful with the family. There were multiple family and community members present each day of the trial, and Cathy navigated their various needs (including Somali translators) brilliantly. I cannot say enough about all these folks – each of them was critical in securing justice for the family.”
Mustapha was convicted in Murfreesboro last year of another count of First Degree Murder. Automatic life sentences were imposed upon conviction in our case. There will be a sentencing hearing in March for the Court to determine whether any of the counts will be imposed consecutively. In conjunction with his Murfreesboro case, Mr. Mustapha could be sentenced to close to 180 – 200 years if counts are imposed consecutively.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE DIVISION 1 TEAM IN SECURING JUSTICE FOR THE DEATHS OF A MOTHER AND SON.
Albert Mustapha
Long Awaited Justice for the family of 18-year-old Brandon Adams, an 18-year-old basketball standout, gunned down seven years ago.
Facebook photos of victim Brandon Adams
Congratulations to Assistant District Attorneys Chris Buford and Lindsey Moreland, Victim Witness Coordinator Alex Ondrus, along with Investigator Randy Martin, who helped get the evidence while Investigator Steve Turner was out. The Division V Media Analyst, Michael Pointer, played a BIG role in making sure everything was together, as did Nick Griffin, the Division V Criminal Court Secretary who prepared the case for trial.
VWC Alex Ondrus says the family was extremely happy, as they’ve been waiting 7 years for this day. She admits there were “a lot of happy tears, big hugs, and hallelujah’s when they heard about the verdict. The case took an unusually long time to get to Criminal Court Trial, as the defendant was 16 years of age at the time of the murder, and had to be transferred to adult court for the eventual trial. The year-long COVID court shutdown made the wait even harder on the victim’s family, who showed great patience and unwavering belief in the District Attorney’s office and Metro Police that Justice would come soon. That day arrived with GUILTY verdicts earlier this month on charges of First Degree Premeditated Murder, First Degree Felony Murder, Especially Aggravated Robbery, and Aggravated Robbery with a Weapon.
Finally, they said, Justice for Brandon.
The family told ADA’s Chris Buford and Lindsey Moreland multiple times how great of a job they did and how appreciative they have been for all their work. The family members were super kind and patient throughout the whole week, and it was a joy to see them get a small sense of peace and justice in the face of such a devastating loss”.
Sentencing for Frazier will be April 10, 2025.
Timothy Frazier
John Holman Jr. was recently found guilty of First Degree Premeditated Murder after just 2 hours of deliberation for the 2018 murder of his girlfriend, Donna Adams.
Assistant District Attorneys Debbie Housel and Kristen Taylor, along with Victim Witness Coordinators Brittany LaDuke and Susan Tucker Smith, secured the verdict earlier this month in Criminal Court Division VI.
General Housel praised the work of the entire team, especially ADA Kristen Taylor, who was ‘fantastic’ during second close and effectively shut down the defense claim of Voluntary Manslaughter. That work, and the visual of General Housel swinging a baseball bat during closing arguments to show the heinousness of the crime, convinced the jury to convict and awarded justice to the family of victim Donna Adams.
The details of this crime are gruesome, as described by General Housel following the verdict.
46-year-old Donna Adams’ bludgeoned body was found by North Precinct officers on July 9th, 2018 laying in the bathroom of her North Nashville home. A few inches from her head, officers discovered a bloody wooden bat that Holman had used to strike the victim a minimum of 10 times resulting in her death.
Both of the victim’s arms were broken, one in two places, as she tried to protect her head from the repeated blows. The victim suffered extensive injury and was also strangled.
The victim was discovered in Nashville after Holman drove his truck into the Cumberland River in Clarksville in an apparent suicide attempt. When he was rescued by a boater, he admitted that he tried to commit suicide because he had “hurt” Ms. Adams with a bat.
“Donna Adams’ last hours on this earth were that of a horror story – her home became a torture chamber.” “In addition to the multiple and catastrophic blows, the Defendant also shaved her head, threatened to burn her to death with lighter fluid and threatened to dismember her with a reciprocal saw.”
“Donna Adams and her family finally received justice after six and a half long years,” said Assistant District Attorney Debbie Housel. “When the Davidson County jury announced their verdict, Ms. Adams two daughters who courageously testified against their father yesterday were overcome with joy,” Housel said.
“The victim’s twin sister and other relatives were overjoyed with the verdict and expressed their sincere appreciation to the police, the court and our office,” said co-counsel, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Taylor.
Congratulations to the Nashville District Attorney’s prosecutorial team as they achieve a measure of peace and justice to the family of victim Donna Adams.
Don’t attempt to scam the state of Tennessee when it comes to paying taxes.
That’s the message from Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk and the Tennessee Department of Revenue. The two agencies teamed up earlier this year to indict and arrest Paul E. Cox, the owner of Southeast Automotive in Nashville, on 6 felony counts of tax evasion and one count of theft over a quarter of million dollars. The indictments allege Cox falsified monthly sales tax returns and knowingly failed to remit sale tax of more than $250,000 to the TN Dept. of Revenue. If convicted, Cox could face more than 25 years in prison and close to $100,000 in fines.
If you suspect violations of Tennessee’s revenue laws, call the toll free state tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).
The Nashville District Attorney’s office was able to bring a measure of Justice and Closure to the family of Trashai’ Siske last week. The 28-year-old Nashville mother of two was killed in her apartment more than two years ago by her boyfriend, Ricky Johnson.
Nashville DA Criminal Court Division VI prosecutors Luis Casas and Amy Hunter, Victim Witness Coordinators Brittany Johnson and Nikanna Bell, Media Analyst Alex Pendon, and Investigator Steve Turner presented the case in Criminal Court, Division VI. After several days of testimony and proof, the jury returned with Guilty Verdicts on charges of First Degree Premeditated Murder and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
The state showed that Johnson arrived at the apartment of the victim, Trashai Siske, in the pre-dawn hours of September 1, 2022. A neighbor heard an argument, followed by several gunshots just before 4am. A man with a black mask was seen on surveillance camera leaving the area, with Siske found later by MNPD inside the apartment, killed after being shot 8 times. MNPD used the victim’s phone to link her to the defendant, whose car matched the vehicle seen at the apartment. The defendant’s car was later found abandoned in Ashland City, with identifying documents and a black mask inside.
Excellent work by detectives at the Metro Nashville Police Department, electronic tracking, and the DA team’s skillful ability to piece the puzzle together resulted in a guilty verdict on both counts, and more importantly, justice for Trashai’s family.
Johnson received life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
Ricky Johnson – Defendant
Trashai’ Siske – Victim
A former security guard was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder in the shooting of an unarmed man during a dispute over loud music at a Kroger gas station in Memphis, Tennessee.
Gregory Livingston, 57, was found guilty by a Shelby County jury May 3rd in the August 2021 fatal shooting of 48-year-old Alvin Motley Jr., who had been visiting Memphis from Chicago when he got into an argument with Livingston at a Kroger gas station.
Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft sentenced Livingston to life in prison.
Motley, who was black, was a passenger in a car when Livingston, who is white, approached and engaged in a conversation about loud music coming from the vehicle that prosecutors said steadily escalated.
Holding a beer and a cigarette, Motley walked toward Livingston during the argument and suggested they discuss the matter “like men.” Livingston drew his gun and fired a single shot into Motley’s chest. He died at the scene.
During trial, Livingston’s lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense.
The office of Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk handled the case after then-Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich recused herself because an investigator in her office had an off-duty job with the security company that employed Livingston. Besides General Funk, the Nashville DA’s Prosecutorial Team included Assistant District Attorneys David Jones and Ronald Dowdy, as well as Media Specialists Megan Thomas and Lili Wall. Victim Witness Coordinator Sunshine Sadler assisted the Motley family during the week-long trial, and DA Investigator Terry Wills made several trips to Memphis during the 3 years it took to bring the case to trial.
