The man who allegedly shot and killed rapper Christopher Cheeks, who went by the stage name Chris King, in Nashville last week was out on bond for another alleged murder that took place in September of 2021.
Cheeks was shot and killed after an altercation with a group of men who attempted to rob him, according to a press release from the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
A 29-year-old friend of Cheeks, who was also shot during the altercation but survived his injuries, told police that the group had been cordially hanging out in a Nashville alleyway before the alleged robbery.
In a Sunday post on X, MNPD said it was searching for 19-year-old Adrian Cameron Jr. (pictured above), who was out on bond after another alleged murder from 2021.
“Cameron was out on bond for the 2021 murder of Josh Evans & on an ankle monitor at the time of the fatal shooting,” MNPD said.
At press time, Adrian Cameron Jr. had not been located, and his ankle monitor had been disabled.
Three years ago, when Adrian Cameron Jr. was 16, he allegedly shot and killed 50-year-old Josh Evans. Cameron’s father, Adrian Cameron Sr., was shot and killed by Metro SWAT officers when they attempted to question him regarding the incident.
“While we do not comment on pending cases, we can confirm that the Nashville District Attorney’s Office has filed a Motion to Revoke Mr. Cameron’s bond and approved nationwide extradition if he [is] apprehended outside of Tennessee,” a spokesperson for Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk’s office told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday.
Funk faced heat in November when career criminal Shaquille Taylor, who had a lengthy rap sheet for violent crimes and was known to be mentally ill, allegedly killed Jillian Ludwig, an 18-year-old freshman at Belmont University.
Funk said at the time that the matter was out of his hands:
Under Tennessee law, for a person to be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, at least two doctors must have executed certificates that the person is suffering from a severe mental illness or developmental disability that causes the person to be a substantial risk of serious harm to himself or others. The doctors must also find that there are no other less restrictive measures than commitment.
This nearly impossible standard impacts public safety. The law must be altered to accurately balance individual needs with public safety. At the same time Tennessee must provide more beds and staffing resources to handle dangerous individuals.
I will continue to work with the Legislature on these serious mental health issues.
Rappers, celebrities, and friends, including international pop star Justin Bieber, paid tribute to Cheeks on social media.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include Nashville District Attorney General’s office statement regarding the filing of a Motion to Revoke Adrian Cameron Jr.’s bond.
