CHATTANOOGA — Judge Boyd Patterson sentenced Samuel Askins to life in prison plus 20 years Tuesday in Chattanooga for his role in a series of August 2023 shootings that killed Warren "Kojack" Crutcher. Patterson also sentenced Caleb Askins, the defendant's brother, to 20 years in prison.

Crutcher was killed on August 29, 2023, in a shooting on Maryland Street at the corner of Spears Avenue in North Chattanooga. Before that shooting, the suspects fired at homes on Webb Road and Noah Reid Road. Prosecutor Austin Scofield said some shots at one location entered an adjacent apartment. Residents of the three targeted homes were connected to a Gangster Disciple member who had quarreled with Samuel Askins.

Prosecutors said Samuel Askins was involved in a feud with a Gangster Disciple member over a girl, and that he recruited three juveniles for the shootings, providing them with drugs and guns. The mother of the Askins brothers was shot in the leg when shots were fired into the bedroom of their home.

Samuel Askins was wearing an ankle monitor during the shootings and asked his brother to move the device around the house to create an alibi. Patterson said Caleb Askins stayed home during the shootings but served as an alibi and helped direct a coverup. Caleb Askins, initially charged with conspiracy with intent to commit first-degree murder, was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment.

Patterson said Samuel Askins had glorified gang life, was decorating his jail cell with gang graffiti, and had assaulted a rookie guard at Silverdale. He was not eligible for parole consideration until he is 70, even before the additional 20-year term.

A witness testified that the brothers' mother was almost fatally wounded but survived, and that the brothers were angry about the shooting. The brothers began getting into trouble when they switched schools from East Hamilton to Red Bank High and were later sent to juvenile facilities in Dandridge and Memphis following multiple arrests. Scofield said Samuel Askins had one of the most extensive juvenile records he had ever seen.

One of the juveniles charged in the case testified for the state. Two of the juveniles involved are now adults and still face charges. "What we are left with is grief," Yolanda Crutcher said.