A fight between rival groups led to the 2017 shooting that left one person dead and six wounded during a party at a venue in Jonesboro, according to police records released Thursday.
Monterio Barnes, 18, was fatally shot in the early-morning hours of May 14, 2017, at The Basement, a South Main Street venue in downtown Jonesboro that is no longer in operation.
Kalius "KK" Lane, 21, of Jonesboro pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in October 2018 in connection with the shooting. He received 30 years in prison for the murder charge and 10 years each for two counts of first-degree battery.
Chauncey Thomas, 20, of Jonesboro, also was charged initially in the shooting but reached a plea agreement in February 2018 after witnesses recanted their testimony that Thomas was one of the two gunmen, according to court documents.
Thomas pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension, and a judge suspended imposition of sentencing for five years with the expectation that Thomas would testify against Lane.
A Jonesboro Police Department report recently obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette revealed that a fight between two groups known as the "CM Boys" and the "HustleFam" led to the violence.
In the report, police describe a chaotic scene upon arrival, with injured people lying on the ground outside and inside the venue.
"Subjects were running over each other, jumping any obstacle in their way and many were pointing to the front and screaming that there were people shot inside," officer Nathan Coleman said in the report.
Officers said they found Barnes lying on his back in a large pool of blood and that Barnes quit breathing while receiving treatment at the scene. Police noted that Barnes had gunshot wounds in his chest and his right leg.
Devontae Dewayne Fowler, 19, was found lying on the ground outside with a bullet wound through his left hip and abdominal area, the report said. He was among six people critically injured in the shooting.
Witnesses told police that a fight broke out during at rap concert, and about 30 seconds into the altercation gunshots rang out. One witness said a man in a black shirt fired 10 to 16 shots and that a shirtless man fired around 10 shots. Other witnesses also said they heard shots fired from two separate guns.
Officers said video and witness statements helped identify Lane as the primary suspect.
Police issued arrest warrants for Thomas and Lane after a witness told police that he saw Thomas fire a gun during the incident. The warrants were for first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree battery.
Thomas surrendered to police in May and told officers that he rushed over to help after he saw Fowler punch his cousin, who also was shot. Thomas said he slipped and fell to the floor, and as he got up he heard gunshots, the report said.
Thomas told police that Fowler and his cousin were at odds before the party "over the streets, really petty stuff."
Thomas said he'd hung out with Lane inside the venue and did not see Lane with a gun, according to the report. Thomas said they were members of a group called "HustleFam." The report said Thomas admitted that he knew Barnes and "the other ones too, kinda, they be with the other side."
Another witness identified another person -- other than Fowler, Thomas or Lane -- as the shooter. She said the suspect hung around Lane and had bragged about robbing a member of the CM Boys.
Thomas talked with police again on May 15, 2017, and said two guns were fired inside the Basement. He said Lane shot Barnes, and that another man shot four times in response to Lane firing, according to the report. Thomas said he didn't think the shots from the second man hit anyone.
A man in custody at the Craighead County jail told police May 16, 2017, that he saw Fowler shoot and that Thomas didn't have a weapon. He said Lane also fired shots during the party, according to the report.
"He went on to say that it was 'group' against 'group,'" officer Keri Varner said in the report. "He said that's what people don't understand."
Fowler told police May 17, 2017, that he got into a fight at the venue and that the shots were probably meant for him, the report said.
Members of the CM Boys who worked as security at the event said none of the women who entered the party were patted down for weapons, the report said. They told police there was a list of "family members" of the CM Boys who were admitted for free, as well.
Asked about tensions between any of the groups and the CM Boys, a member of the CM Boys told police that HustleFam had posted comments on social media about how it was going to "cause problems" at the CM Boys' parties.
A CM Boys member told police that he had advised other CM Boys members that HustleFam members -- including Lane and Thomas -- were not to be allowed into the venue because of previous altercations between the groups at CM Boys parties.
He said CM Boys believed the shooting was a planned attack on Fowler and his friends, the report said.
Police closed the case in December. A second shooter was never identified or charged, according to the report.
Fowler was fatally shot April 25, 2018, at Chateau Apartments in the 800 block of South Caraway Road in Jonesboro.
Thomas was injured in a Jan. 2, 2019, shooting in which a 16-year-old was killed and two others were wounded.
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Thomas on Jan. 4 after he was found in possession of marijuana and a digital scale Jan. 2, according to court records.
Thomas also was arrested Dec. 21, 2018, for felony possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance after a search of his Galaxy Street residence in Jonesboro.
State Desk on 03/08/2019