On July 27, 2019, at 6:20 P.M. Officer Nathaniel Bechtol of the Jackson Police Department was dispatched to 38 Cinnamon Dr. of Jackson, Tennessee. Bechtol located a white Chevy Tahoe parked in the driveway with one victim inside, later identified as Cole Felton, age 34. Felton had been shot multiple times and was already deceased by the time the police arrived. A surviving victim, Deandre Wright, gave a description of a suspect who ran up to the vehicle in a dark hoodie before shooting multiple times into the car then fleeing on foot. Officer Ron Dewald and his canine partner, “Echo,” tracked from shell casings left by the Tahoe into the back yards of Cinnamon Dr. Echo located a 9mm handgun laying in the tall grass behind 57 Cinnamon Dr. The dog then continued to track from the gun to the residence. Inside, officers found Gerald Crossley, born August of 2002.
Investigator Robert Groves led the investigation. Crossley’s hands and a black hoodie found next to a couch in his room were both tested for gunshot residue with a positive result. Crossley’s cell phone was sent to the TBI and Special Agent Derek Miller downloaded videos Crossley took mere hours before the shooting where he displayed the firearm recovered from his back yard. Chief Deputy John Lewoczko forensically matched the firearm to the shell casings at the crime scene on 38 Cinnamon Dr. where Cole Felton was killed and Deandre Wright was wounded.
On February 3, 2020, the Madison County Grand Jury indicted Gerald Crossley for First-Degree Murder of Cole Felton, the Attempted First-Degree Murder of Deandre Wright, Aggravated Assault, and Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. On January 17, 2023, represented by Assistant District Attorney Bradley Champine, the State tried Gerald Crossley before a jury. During the trial, Investigator Ashley Robertson of the Jackson Police Department Gang Unit identified Crossley as a member of the Ghost Mob set of the Vice Lord street gang. Robertson explained the history of retaliatory violence between the Vice Lords and the Crips. While Cole Felton was not a gang member, he bore a passing resemblance to a resident who lived in that area and was a known member of the Crips. Robertson also explained statements made during the video Crossley had on his phone, in which Crossley identified himself as a member of the Ghost Mob Vice Lords while he and another gang member talked about how they were going to “slide,” which means to commit a shooting.
On January 20, 2023, the jury convicted Crossley on all counts in the indictment and on March 6, 2023, Judge Kyle Atkins sentenced Crossley to Life in Prison. Additionally, Crossley was sentenced to twenty-six years on the remaining charges, which Judge Atkins ordered to be served concurrently to the life sentence.
“This case was a tragedy for the innocent victim who was mistaken for a rival gang member,” said District Attorney General Jody Pickens. “Law enforcement in this community will continue to battle gang violence so that those who choose to engage in this anti social behavior will be held accountable for the choices and decisions that they make. We know that we cannot return Cole Felton to the family that loved him but we hope that the verdict at least gives his family some measure of peace knowing that his murderer has been sentenced to Life in prison where he will not be able to victimize the citizens of Jackson, Tennessee any further.”
