Man shot and killed at South Knoxville apartments, 1 charged

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - A woman is facing charges connected to a man's fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon outside an apartment building in South Knoxville.

The incident was reported shortly before 4:00 p.m. at Hialeah Apartments on Overbrook Drive, west of Chapman Highway.

The victim was identified as Christopher Melton, 19, of Knoxville.

His body was found in a wooded area near the apartments. Officials detained three people shortly after the shooting and questioned them about it.

One of those who was detained, Jessica Renee Foust, 23, of Knoxville, is charged with one count of accessory after the fact.

Police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said Foust admitted to driving the suspect away from the scene in a red Jeep Cherokee so the suspect could flee the area.

Foust is being held on a $5,000 bond.

In South Knoxville Wednesday, the family of Christopher Melton gathered to mourn his loss. They also worried about how to afford his burial.

His mother, Tricia didn't want to go on-camera, but the family pastor, Elder Tonja Warren, spoke to 6 News.

"It is time to stop. Life is too short to kill each other. We were not put here on this Earth to kill each other," Elder Warren said.  

Melton graduated from Fulton High School in 2011. "He had gotten a job. He was ready to attend to college. He many not have been what everyone expected him to be, but he was a young man who was trying to turn his life around," Elder Warren said. 

The family didn't want to talk about possible motives for the shooting and the police didn't either, but DeBusk says the shooting was not random.    

"I'm not at all amazed it happened in this area because there is a lot high traffic in this area," said Sandra Kelly. She lives across the street from the apartment complex where the shooting took place.  

She said in the three years she's lived there, she's seen a fair amount of police presence.

"A lot of traffic in and out, a lot of arguing. Usually if the police comes, it's in that area," Kelly said. "I don't know always know what's going on, but that's usually  where they go."  

The family says they plan to set up a fundraising account Thursday at the Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union. The money will go toward funeral expenses.