Undrafted Seahawks rookie indicted in murder case. Tamorrion Terry waived Wednesday
Tamorrion Terry has far more to worry about than the Seahawks cutting him.
One day after Seattle waived the undrafted rookie wide receiver, the Miami Herald reported Terry was indicted last week with 10 others on charges they killed a 21-year-old woman in a gang-related mass shooting three years ago.
The Herald on Thursday cited court documents it obtained that allege Terry is linked to the murder of Za’ Quavia Smith. Smith was among at least seven people shot at the Studio 2.0 nightclub in Ashburn, Georgia, in June 2018.
The NFL’s official transactions for Wednesday showed the Seahawks waived Smith six weeks after they had signed the 6-foot-3 former Florida State wide receiver to compete in training camp for one of the final roster spots at wide receiver. Seattle’s move was the only one in the league listed Wednesday. This is the quietest time for transactions and work in the league year, four weeks before training camps begin.
It’s clear now why the Seahawks released Terry.
Last week, a grand jury in Turner County (Georgia) Superior Court indicted Terry and 10 others for felony murder.
The Herald reported court records in Georgia show that days after the 2018 shooting at the nightclub, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Jontavious Coley. It charged the then-17 year-old with felony murder and aggravated assault. Police at the time said Coley was one of several people who fired multiple rounds into a crowd trying to flee the club.
“Basically, it boils down to they’re wearing one color, this other gang is wearing another color,” Ashburn police Major Richard Purvis told reporters in the early days of the investigation, per the Herald. “They’re, in technical terms or street language, they’re beefing. But it put all these other people in danger.”
As of Thursday morning, only Coley was in custody, per Turner County jail records. It wasn’t clear Thursday morning whether warrants had been served to all the defendants. They include, per court documents: Devascea Blanks, Martez Edwards, Tavis Greene, Malik High, Devian Morgan, Quantavious Morgan, Brandon Nixon, Demetrice Smith and Damias Ward.
Terry and the other 10 have been charged with felony murder, which the Herald reported applies when a death, even accidental, occurs in the commission of a felony.
The Herald reported Terry, Edwards and Smith appear to have been teammates at Turner County High School. From there, Terry earned a scholarship offer to Florida State as a three-star recruit.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 9:55 AM.
