Gang-Linked Defendant Sentenced to 122 Years in Prison for Murder of Trial Witness in Chattanooga

Gang-Linked Defendant Sentenced to 122 Years for Killing Trial Witness
On February 23, 2026, 39-year-old Andre Grier was sentenced to a maximum of 122 years in prison in Hamilton County Criminal Court for the 2016 killing of trial witness, 26-year-old Bianca Horton.
Grier was found guilty in October 2025 of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder. The two murder convictions merged into a single life sentence.
On February 23, 2026, the court imposed an additional 12 years for conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping and 25 years each for conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. Prosecutors said the structure of the sentence ensures Grier will never receive a parole date.
Authorities said Horton was targeted because she planned to testify in connection with a January 7, 2015 shooting at College Hill Courts in Chattanooga, Tennessee that left Talitha Bowman dead and Horton’s then 1-year-old daughter paralyzed after being shot in the back.
While the accused gunman in that case awaited trial, Horton was kidnapped, tortured, repeatedly shot, and left on the side of a road before she could testify, according to prosecutors.
“I think part of the reason why he did this was to send a message to people in Hamilton County that you don’t mess with the Athens Park Bloods,” prosecutor Cameron Williams said. “And I think that the Anderson County jury and the judge today sent an even stronger message.”
Two other men were also charged in connection with Horton’s killing. One pleaded guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty. Another died while in custody before trial.

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