NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A family was hoping after their loved one was shot and killed, his killers would remain behind bars.
But that didn't happen.
The two young suspects were granted bond and freed to await trial.
Then it happened — another murder and more charges just a month later.
Now, one of the suspects is charged for a third shooting.
Peyton Trotter, Alex Presley's fiancée and the mother of his child, will never forget the day she lost her best friend, partner, and a devoted Army National Guard veteran.
Presley was fatally shot while parked in his driveway on Weaver Drive near Murfreesboro Pike, allegedly by a then 16-year-old Oswaldo Corado and 17-year-old Jonathan Morales Perez.
Trotter's grief is compounded by the reality that the same suspects allegedly went on to commit another murder — just a month later.
"They took family, I've known Alex since I was seven years old. I mean, they took everything away, everything that they could have taken away is gone," Trotter said.
The suspects were eventually arrested in 2021. A judge granted them bond while they awaited trial, a decision that Trotter believes was a mistake.
“I have a child who's fatherless and won't ever be able to see him except for in a grave. And that's not fair. And they, I just wish they would stay in jail,” said Trotter.
Her worst fears became true when Metro Nashville Police reported that Corado, now 19 years old, was arrested for yet another shooting, this time injuring someone's hand. Corado was supposed to be under strict bond conditions, including wearing an ankle monitor and abstaining from any contact with firearms.
“They messed up with us and let them out. So maybe this will show them something and they should have kept him in," Trotter said.
Both Corado and Morales Perez are now back behind bars.
Trotter says she now is hoping a judge keeps them in jail.
Corado's alleged accomplice is also locked up in the Davidson County Jail. We asked the DA's office why his bond was revoked. So far, we haven't received a response.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
