Javontae Moon

An escalating workplace dispute turned deadly in the early morning hours of August 9, 2023, outside an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Javontae Moon, a 19-year-old Black male, was shot in the head at close range as he left his job. Emergency responders arrived at the scene on Discovery Drive to find Moon with a life-threatening injury. He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and fought for his life for five days before he died on August 14, 2023.

The investigation by the Chattanooga Police Department quickly identified D'Ante Jones, a 20-year-old fellow Amazon employee, as the suspect. Investigators learned that the two men had been involved in an ongoing conflict for about two weeks over a female co-worker. On the morning of the shooting, around 2 a.m., Moon and Jones had an argument in the Amazon parking lot. Following the confrontation, Jones clocked out of his shift, used a ride-share service to go home and retrieve a .45 caliber handgun, and then returned to the facility.

Surveillance footage showed Jones, dressed in black, waiting outside an employee entrance for approximately an hour and a half. Around 4:30 a.m., as Moon emerged from the building at the end of his shift, Jones approached him and shot him once in the face. Jones was arrested shortly after the shooting and confessed to investigators, citing the dispute as his motive.

Jones was initially charged with attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a felony. After Javontae Moon’s death, the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder. During his trial, the defense argued that Jones suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Family members, including Moon’s mother and sister, testified at the sentencing hearing about the devastation his murder had caused.

In January 2025, a jury found D'Ante Jones guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder after about four hours of deliberation. On April 22, 2025, a judge sentenced Jones to 23 years in prison without the possibility of parole. As of April 2025, the case is considered closed.