What This Story Is About
- Surveillance video and a police investigation reveal that a DEA agent shot and killed Deshaune Jones — who was not carrying a gun — nine times during a foot pursuit in Nashville in April 2025.
Why It Matters
- The investigative file, obtained by WSMV4 Investigates, explains why the agent shot and killed Jones.
- Larry Stoker and a second man arrested the day of the shooting are facing federal drug charges.
For Context
- DEA agents nationwide stopped wearing body cameras the month of the shooting, according to a ProPublica report, leaving no footage of the moment Jones was killed.
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – Surveillance video obtained by WSMV4 Investigates shows the moments before a DEA agent opened fire and killed a man on a Nashville street — and a police investigation confirms the man was not carrying a gun.
WSMV Investigates also obtained the police investigation into the shooting, which explains that the DEA agent thought Deshaune Jones was carrying a gun, given that he was running with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and “pointed” at the agent.
Jones was shot nine times, including three times in the back, by a DEA agent during a foot pursuit on 29th Avenue North on April 16, 2025. His family has called for accountability since the shooting.
What the surveillance video shows
The surveillance footage shows Jones pulling a suitcase as he and another man, Larry Stoker, enter a hotel on 29th Avenue North. Minutes later, Jones leaves the hotel with the suitcase and Stoker is carrying baseball bat bags. Both men then take off running, with blurred images of federal agents in pursuit. The shooting of Jones was not captured on cameras in the area, according to the investigative file…