A federal jury has convicted a 35-year-old Goodlettsville man of unlawfully possessing ammunition as a convicted felon, more than four years after prosecutors say he shot a man during a botched heroin deal in North Nashville. The July 1, 2022, shooting left the victim with life-threatening injuries after a $200 CashApp drug transaction spiraled into gunfire.
A Heroin Deal Turns Violent on 38th Avenue
According to WKRN News 2, the victim contacted Zantaun Horton on July 1, 2022, to buy two grams of heroin, and Horton directed him to meet in the 1100 block of 38th Avenue. Horton handed over the drugs after receiving $200 through CashApp, but an argument broke out when the victim complained the amount he received weighed less than what had been agreed upon, the station reports.
Officials said Horton threatened to shoot the victim if he moved the vehicle. Horton then fired two shots and told the victim, “You better get out of here,” according to the same account. Metro Nashville Police Department officers had been dispatched to 38th Avenue North and John L. Driver Boulevard that night to respond to reports of a shooting, and the wounded man managed to drive farther down 38th Avenue North before calling 911.
Victim Identified Shooter Before Emergency Surgery
The victim identified Horton as the shooter before undergoing surgery for his life-threatening injuries at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, officials previously stated per the outlet's reporting. At the scene, MNPD officers recovered two shell casings.
Four days later, on July 5, 2022, detectives executed a search warrant at a home where Horton had been staying. Investigators recovered three cell phones along with an empty box of ammunition that they said matched the casings found at the shooting scene, the report notes. Horton's arrest that week was also covered by WSMV, which reported at the time that he was charged with attempted murder, three counts of felony gun possession, and felony possession of cocaine and meth, with his bond set at $752,000.
Guilty Pleas, a Conviction, and a December Sentencing Date
Horton had already pleaded guilty before trial to related drug and firearms offenses, the article's report states, and now faces up to 40 years in prison for the drug offense and up to life in prison for the firearms offense. The ammunition conviction handed down by the federal jury carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice attribution cited in the report.
Horton is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Metro Nashville Police Department, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Stephens and Brian Enright.
