Victim Murdered during an Argument over a Text Message

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Major Crimes Unit obtained a forty-year sentence against a convicted felon who shot a man in the face during an argument over a text message. Antonio Cedrick Gipson, 46, was convicted of Second Degree Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Judge Scott Green imposed the maximum sentence Gipson was facing for Second Degree Murder, forty years in prison without the possibility of parole.

In a four-day trial last November, Assistant District Attorneys Sean McDermott and Kevin Allen explained to the jury that on May 4, 2018, Knoxville Police Department Investigator Jason Booker responded to a 911 call at an apartment complex at 2809 Valley View Drive. The investigation revealed that Gipson and the victim knew of each other because Gipson was now dating the mother of the victim’s son. Gipson went to the victim’s apartment to confront him about a text message the victim sent about Gipson raising the victim’s son. During the argument, the victim called Gipson a name, and Gipson pulled a .25 caliber handgun and shot the victim once in the face at close range. Gipson then drove away and turned himself in a short time later.

“Like so many others, this crime is senseless,” said DA Charme Allen.”A man is dead, and a family is grieving because of how this Defendant reacted to a text message.”

Gipson’s criminal history started at age 14. He has three prior felony convictions: two for dealing cocaine and one for Facilitation of Aggravated Assault. In addition to the forty-year sentence on the murder count, Gipson was also sentenced to ten years in prison on the weapon count.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.