NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 43-year-old man has been charged with shooting and killing a man while driving on Interstate 40 earlier this month.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), a Crime Stoppers tip led detectives to Randy Brooks II, who was taken into custody Thursday morning.
The shooting was reported shortly after 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 12 near the Fesslers Lane exit of I-40. The MNPD said shots were fired at Uriel Miller, 26, from a Honda Odyssey minivan.
Police released images of the minivan Tuesday, adding it appeared to be silver and was believed to be around a 2015 model.
Video from a tractor-trailer’s dash camera showed the Honda Odyssey following Miller’s Ford Crown Victoria sedan before abruptly changing lanes and pulling up next to Miller’s passenger side, according to officials. Detectives believe that’s when shots were fired.
Miller, a Rutherford County resident, died at the scene after his sedan came to a rest along the retaining wall between the eastbound and westbound lanes, the MNPD said.
By investigating a Crime Stoppers tip, authorities learned Brooks owned a 2005 Honda Odyssey van, which was found parked outside his Sadler Avenue home and looked identical to the van from the dash camera footage.
The MNPD said it appears that Brooks thought a car that looked just like Miller’s had been following him. Law enforcement believe Brooks mistook Miller’s vehicle for another and opened fire.
According to an affidavit, detectives spoke with two people familiar with Brooks. The first reported that after the shooting, Brooks had become more unstable, insinuating he was involved in the incident and that someone was following him when it happened.
The second individual told authorities Brooks had said he was involved in a shooting on I-40 and had exchanged gunfire with the victim. However, officials said there are no indications that Miller ever fired a gun.
Brooks was taken into custody at his home Thursday morning and charged with criminal homicide. His bond was set at $500,000.
