Chris Wright at Jack Brown’s Bar with unidentified woman just prior to the time he was killed
A former bartender at Jack Brown’s Bar testified Thursday that Chris Wright was extremely drunk just prior to walking down Georgia Avenue, where he was killed after an encounter with a Patten Towers resident.
Natasha Yancey said she was concerned about his safety and offered to get him an Uber. She said he replied, “I can get my own damn Uber.” She said the conversation occurred on the bar’s patio area and it was concerning to her. The prosecution noted that she earlier told police the Uber statement was made in a joking fashion.
Darryl “Too Tall” Roberts is standing trial in the courtroom of Judge Boyd Patterson for criminal homicide in the Sept 28, 2023, incident.
Ms. Yancey said Wright initially came into the bar at 9:55 p.m. and left after finding out it did not have a liquor license at the time and could only sell beer. She said he initially reached out to shake her hand as he introduced himself and told her he wanted “a grown man’s drink.” She said he was accompanied by a man (Brittain “Ian” Brantley) and an unidentified woman. Wright and Brantley had been celebrating their 20th Baylor School reunion.
The witness said she told the trio about nearby bars that did serve liquor. They left but returned later.
She said when they did return after a visit to Cherry Street Tavern the two men were heavily intoxicated and the woman was “a little tipsy.” She said a co-worker told her “you can have them.”
She said she served them “ponies” (small beers) of High Life because of their intoxication level. She said, “I was trying to avoid any conflict.” She said they were cut off for further drinks, saying, “It was one and done.”
She said of the group, “I was kind of concerned about them.”
Ms. Yancey said Chris Wright was “sloshed” and his speech was very slurred and “on the louder side.” She said he was “acting in an aggressive manner.”
She said he would refer to Brantley as “asshole” and the woman as “bitch.”
The jury was shown video of the trio in the bar. It showed the others sitting down, but an animated Wright stood. At times he struck the bar with his hand. Ms. Yancey said at one point a patron nearby gave him a look when that happened.
At one point Brantley got up and went toward the back of the bar. She thought he had gone to the bathroom to throw up. She said a co-worker eventually checked the bathroom and he was not there. She said he had apparently left out the back door.
Afterward, she said Wright remained standing at the bar with the woman sitting beside him. She said he was being “flirtatious” toward her.
She said, “I wanted him to leave. He was getting very loud and banging on the bar.” When he did leave he paid his and the woman’s tabs.
Ms. Yancey said she was on a break on the patio when Wright and the woman came outside at 11:39 p.m. She said Wright “seemed like he was upset. He wanted the night to keep going. He didn’t want the woman to leave.”
She said Wright handed the woman his phone and she put her number in it.
She said after the woman left Wright asked her if she thought the woman was beautiful.
He then sat on a bench and made calls before starting out walking in the direction of Patten Towers. Brantley testified that he noticed later that he had several calls from Wright at that time.
Detective James King said he never learned the identity of the woman at the bar with Wright and Brantley.
He also said he had not come up with any video that included audio from the front of the Patten. He stated, “I would love to have a video with audio that explains what was said and why it happened.”
He said he had not been able to locate a woman in a white hoodie seen in the video just before the shooting, and who looked over to see what was going on.
Det. King also said he never was given any indication that Wright had used a racial slur in his confrontation with Roberts.
The detective said he was unaware of an allegation that a sergeant with the Chattanooga Police Department, when arresting Roberts, told him, “You’re going to jail for life. The guy’s from Signal Mountain. You killed the wrong dude.”
Det. King said he had the solemn duty of calling the wife of Wright at 5 a.m. the next morning to tell her that her husband had been killed. Wright was the father of two young sons and an eight-week-old daughter.
Chris Wright at Jack Brown’s Bar with unidentified woman just prior to the time he was killed
This article was originally published by a www.chattanoogan.com . Read the Original article here. .