Murder on Market Street: Suspect in Chattanooga man's death pleads not guilty Friday

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — UPDATE (March 3rd, 2025):

The murder trial for Darryl Roberts has now been moved up to March 21st.

Depend on us to keep you posted.

UPDATE (January 5th, 2024):

Darryl Roberts pleaded not guilty via closed circuit television in Hamilton County Criminal Court Friday morning.

This arraignment was scheduled after a Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted him.

Roberts is scheduled to appear in court next in March.

Depend on us to keep you posted on his case.

UPDATE (December 12th):

A Hamilton County Grand Jury has indicted the suspect in the deadly Market Street shooting that happened back in late September.

The indictment charges Darryl Roberts with first degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Read our previous coverage of this story below.

Depend on us to keep you posted as this case makes its way through the court system.

UPDATE (October 16th):

Surveillance video showing a Chattanooga businessman's murder on Market Street was played in Hamilton County court Monday morning.

This happened during the preliminary hearing for the suspect in the case, Darryl Roberts.

The video is disturbing to watch.

It shows Christopher Wright walking down the street and engaging in a conversation with a sitting man who appears to be Roberts for about 30 seconds.

Right now, it's unclear what the two were talking about.

Wright then walks away, still speaking with the man, turning a couple of times to say something to him and raising his hands.

The man police identify as Roberts then gets up and walks to Wright.

When he's just a few feet feet away, he pulls out a gun and shoots Wright in the head, at point blank range. Wright immediately fell back onto the sidewalk.

At the time the shot was fired, Wright's hands were at his side, and there didn't appear to be any sign of a physical argument.

In the moments after the shooting, the video shows the shooter walking around the scene casually before walking out of the frame.

The video appears to show at least 2 witnesses nearby when the shooting happened.

At Monday's preliminary hearing, officers testified that witnesses identified the shooter as Roberts by his nickname, 'Too Tall.'

We watched Roberts nervously shaking his legs while the hearing was underway.

Officers obtained a search warrant for Roberts' apartments, where they testified they recovered cell phones, narcotics, and a trace evidence of blood on light switches and the bathroom sink.

Several witnesses testified at the hearing. None of them could recall any racial slurs were mentioned in the moments that led up to the shooting, and they were unclear what Wright and the suspect were talking about. One witness says he saw Roberts was clearly drunk while sitting on the sidewalk that night.

We're told 2 witnesses to Wright's murder testified at the hearing.

UPDATE: After the hearing ended, Roberts' case was bound over to a grand jury, and bond remained at $5 million.

Depend on us for updates as we get them.

UPDATE: (October 2nd): The suspect in the deadly shooting of Baylor school alum made his first appearance in court today.

Darryl Roberts faces a first degree murder charge for Christopher Wright's death.

His bond was set at 5 million dollars and his next court date is October 16th.

Depend on us as we follow this story.

EARLIER:

We have obtained an affidavit for the arrest of Darryl Roberts.

In it, police say that the victim, Christopher Wright, can be seen in surveillance footage walking down the sidewalk, past two men.

The affidavit says that one of those men was later identified as Darryl Roberts.

The victim can be seen on camera turning towards the two men after walking past them, then later stopping to look toward them again, according to that affidavit.

It then says that the suspect walked up to Wright and shot him at point blank range.

The affidavit also describes how police say they identified Roberts as a suspect.

It says that witnesses identified the suspect as a man who went by the nickname "Too Tall."

One witness claimed to have seen the suspect and the victim have a verbal dispute, and said they thought the suspect's name was "Darryl Roberts," according to the affidavit.

Later, it says that witness correctly picked Roberts out of a line-up.

EARLIER:

Chattanooga Police have arrested the man involved in the deadly shooting of a Baylor School graduate that happened Thursday night.

Chattanooga Police arrested 57-year-old Darryl Roberts for the homicide of Christopher Wright Friday.

CPD says their Fugitive Unit, along with federal partners from the United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF"), saw Roberts in a vehicle in the Brainerd area.

They followed him until marked police vehicles were able to assist with a traffic stop, CPD says.

They say officers assisted with initiating a traffic stop in the 500 block of Tunnel Boulevard.

Roberts was arrested for outstanding warrants related to the homicide.

Roberts is in custody at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center.

CPD says he is charged with first degree murder.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly released a statement on the shooting...

“Last night's shooting was a terrible tragedy that our community will not soon forget. My heart goes out to Chris Wright’s wife and children, and all his family, friends, and colleagues, who have suffered this terrible, unjust loss. While we are still collecting all of the facts about this heartbreaking tragedy, there are some things we do know: this was not gang violence, or a mugging, or a robbery. It was an isolated, senseless, and brazen act of gun violence after what appears to be a verbal exchange. Some suggest that this is the result of a police department that isn’t doing its job. Nothing could be further from the truth. The effectiveness of CPD’s presence and engagement throughout the community and its focused deterrence strategies are well documented. The sad reality is that sometimes proactive policing only goes so far, particularly when you’re dealing with the kind of person who would commit a murderous act of apparent rage in front of witnesses on the steps of his own apartment building under the blue light of a well-known public safety camera. Gun violence is taking a serious personal toll on people’s lives and hurting Chattanoogans’ ability to feel safe in our community. Like every proud resident of Chattanooga, I’m outraged at every life lost at the hands of those committing senseless, violent acts. I’m sick of it, and as mayor, I will not tolerate it. If you commit violent crime in Chattanooga, you can be certain that we will use every tool in our arsenal to lock you up- and we have a nation-leading closure rate of more than 80%. There are many questions yet to be answered in this case, but Chief Murphy’s track record and the police department’s work investigating cases like this one is not one of them. I’d like to thank the Chattanooga Police Department and all our law enforcement partners for getting the suspect off our streets so swiftly.”

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp also released a statement. Note that it was released before Roberts arrest...

"I am heartbroken and angered by the cold blooded murder of a beloved father, son, husband, and leader in our community last night. Tragically, gun violence is once again wreaking havoc across Chattanooga. Please exercise extreme caution downtown and avoid being alone late at night. There is a dangerous criminal element in Chattanooga, and while it is typically not a threat to innocent citizens, vigilance is imperative. I’m grateful to CPD investigators for their swift action to protect our community — and I trust that in the days ahead the District Attorney will hold this killer accountable."

UPDATE:

Chattanooga Police now say this shooting was a deadly one.

They identified the victim as 38-year-old Christopher Wright.

Later Friday morning, we learned that Baylor School held a moment of silence during their assembly in honor of Wright, who was a 2003 graduate of the school.

The school shared a 2018 YouTube video that featured him. Watch below:

The Baylor School community is heartbroken to learn of the sudden death of Christopher Wright ’03, who would have celebrated his 20th class reunion this weekend with his fellow classmates. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and his family for their devastating loss,” said Head of School Chris Angel ’89.

According to the investment firm Alderman Enterprises's website, Wright was in a leadership position there, listing him as a graduate of Yale University and as a resident of Chattanooga.

The website also says he leaves behind a wife and son.

Police also clarified that the shooting happened at 1000 Market Street, near Georgia Avenue.

A release says the still-unidentified 38-year-old man got into an argument with a suspect.

Witnesses told officers the suspect then pulled out a gun and shot the man.

Police later confirmed that the suspect and victim did not know each other.

Right now, police are still looking for that suspect.

Depend on us to keep you posted.

EARLIER:

A person was shot near Miller Park in downtown Chattanooga late Thursday night, Chattanooga Police confirm.

Right now, we don't know how badly the victim was hurt.

We're working to learn more, and police say a release on the incident will be coming soon, so check this story later for updates.

The incident happened a little before midnight.

A witness told our crew on the scene the shooting happened shortly after he heard an argument.

A guy was talking to another guy, and the next thing I knew an argument broke out, and he was shot. A couple of people went running separate ways, and I guess that's when they shut down the Pickle Barrel,' the woman told us.

We'll update this story as soon as we get more details from police, so check back.