Murder Suspect Arrested

A Cohutta man was arrested Thursday in Chattanooga on murder charges connected to the March 31^st shooting death of Kenneth Ray Townsend. 19-year old Gabriel Mekel Adams of 1247 Derby Drive in Cohutta was arrested in Chattanooga with the assistance of the US Marshall’s Office on warrants for murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault.

Police were called to the apartment of 62-year old Kenneth Townsend at 801 Selvidge Street at 2:51 am March 31st with a report that a man had been shot. When officers arrived, they found Townsend suffering from gunshot wounds to his arm and chest. Townsend was taken by ambulance to Hamilton Medical Center where he died shortly after. Initial information provided to investigators indicated that the shooter was a Black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. The suspect fled the scene before officers could arrive.

Investigators followed multiple leads in the hours and days that followed and developed information that Adams was the shooter. Investigators obtained warrants for Adams’ arrest on April 2^nd and have been looking for him ever since. With the assistance of the US Marshall’s Office, investigators learned that Adams might be located in Chattanooga. On April 7^th, Dalton Police Department investigators accompanied agents from the US Marshall’s Office and officers from the Chattanooga Police Department to 1611 North Orchard Knob Avenue in Chattanooga. Mr. Adams was located there and he was taken into custody without incident at approximately 11:45 am. He is currently in the custody of the Chattanooga PD awaiting extradition back to Georgia to face charges of murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault.