How Kurtis Primm murder trial ended in plea deal

Kurtis Primm, one of three men charged in the 2016 Charlotte picnic grounds shooting deaths, reached a plea deal Saturday morning just as closing arguments were to begin.

Primm, 30, will likely serve up to 15 years in prison with credit for the more than two years served. His plea: A count of attempted first degree murder and a count of conspiracy to commit first degree murder.

The deal came after a week of powerful testimony in a room filled with a family divided — literally, in this instance, by the pathway through the courtroom gallery.

Among those testifying: Montae Springer, who survived the altercation despite being shot multiple times. Springer told the jury he was aware of a grievance over a $200 drug debt between his brother Quintin Tidwell and his cousin Isiah Primm, 26, who is also charged with murder in the altercation. 

Springer, though, said he wasn’t prepared for what happened that April 12, 2016 morning. He was sitting on a picnic table, looking down, he testified. Springer then heard a voice. He looked up, he said, and Isiah Primm asked, “Do you want to die…?” Isiah Primm then shot into the air.

Springer said Kurtis Primm was standing nearby and said, “Don’t play with him. Burn him.”

“In other words, shoot him,” Springer added.

Springer said Tidwell then hit Isiah as he began to point the gun at Springer. He jumped down from the table to the ground to help Tidwell who was now fighting with Isiah. Springer said Isiah had shot Tidwell in the chest just before they began wrestling for control of the gun. 

“When I looked up, it was Kurtis Primm shooting me,” Springer said. Springer said once he was shot, he ran across the street, jumped a bench and collapsed. Kurtis Primm followed him, he said, and shot him again.

However, Kurtis Primm’s attorney Eric Yow pointed out that at least seven times in the minutes and hours following the shooting, Springer said he did not know who shot him.

Tidwell, 29, of Dickson, and Marcedez Teroy Bell, 23, of Charlotte, were the two men shot and killed that day in Charlotte. Most testimony and reports to this point indicate that Bell was simply driving through the picnic grounds and stopped to visit with Tidwell and Springer.

In addition to Kurtis Primm and Isiah Primm, Jonathan Hughes, 30, is also charged with murder in the case. 

Springer said he’s known Kurtis Primm “all my life.” He described Kurtis, Isiah, and Hughes as his “little cousins.”

Crouch asked if previously it had crossed his mind that Kurtis Primm would attempt to kill him?

“Never," Springer said. 

Asked if he had a different opinion now, Springer replied, “Yes sir.”

Plea deal

Saturday morning closing arguments were about to be made by District Attorney Ray Crouch and Yow on Kurtis Primm’s behalf. The jury would then work toward making a decision.  

Family and friends, who during the trial saw several photos of Tidwell lying shot and dead on the ground, began filling up courtroom gallery benches.

But by 10 a.m., a plea deal was in the works. By 11:15 a.m. both sides reached a “compromise plea,” Yow said.

“After four days of testimony, the district attorney and I successfully negotiated a settlement that both sides could accept,” Yow said.

The deal was as follows: Kurtis Primm entered a plea of attempted first degree murder against Montae Springer and conspiracy to commit first degree murder against Quintin Tidwell and Marcedes Bell. 

The first degree murder count was 15 years in prison to serve "at 100 percent." The conspiracy to commit first degree murder count was for 25 years in prison to serve at "30 percent." The counts are concurrent with each other.

Crouch said the 100 percent and 30 percent "do not represent a release date or an amount of time the defendant will serve."

"They represent the minimum amount of time an inmate must serve before he/she is eligible for parole," Crouch said. "When an inmate becomes eligible for parole, he/she is not automatically released. The inmate must appear before the board of parole and argue for release."

Fingerprints, DNA, drugs

Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation testified during the week about fingerprints, blood and DNA found at the shooting site as well as in the cars involved.

The vehicles included a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by witness Kenny Flanagan as well as a car — that was shot and crashed — driven by Bell. Flanagan said he drove Kurtis Primm, Isiah Primm and Jonathan Hughes to Charlotte and parked at a nearby market. He said Isiah, Kurtis and Hughes walked to the picnic grounds.

Kurtis Primm’s fingerprints and DNA was not found in any of the vehicles or at the crime scene.

However, Springer and another witness said Kurtis Primm was wearing gloves.

A TBI investigator who specializes in drug analysis noted that the drugs found at the scene included bags containing a large amount of baking soda with a trace amount of cocaine.

Foster parent murder convict testifies

Jeffrey Johnson, 25, of Clarksville, who was convicted in the 2008 murder of his White Bluff foster parents, said Kurtis Primm confided in him while they were both prisoners in the Montgomery County Jail. Primm told him that the altercation and ultimately shooting deaths occurred “over drugs, cocaine specifically,” Johnson testified.

Johnson said Tidwell did not want to pay for the drugs supplied by Isiah Primm.

During Yow's cross examination, Johnson admitted that he was frustrated with his attorney and with being in prison while in prison alongside Kurtis Primm. Yow, in his questioning, tried to paint a picture of an inmate willing to do most anything to get out. 

“Are you aware that no other witnesses have come forward...that Kurtis Primm has confessed to them?” Yow asks.

“No I am not,” Johnson said.

“I felt like it was the right thing to do to speak up and say something," said Johnson, adding that he knew Springer, and loved him "like a brother." 

Springer: ‘I was scared for my life’

Lying on the ground, beside the bench, Springer said Kurtis Primm shot at his head. However, he said the bullet passed through his hair, which had been braided and pulled up.

Then, Springer said, Kurtis ran in the direction of the vehicle driven by Bell and shot at least once at the vehicle.

“Then (Kurtis Primm) started coming back toward me. I thought he had seen me breathing, and I thought ‘This is it, I am going die.’ But he ran past me,” Springer said.

Springer said he heard two more gunshots and thought it was likely Tidwell being shot again.

Springer called 911 while lying on the ground. During that call, Springer twice said he didn’t know who shot him.

During Yow’s cross examination, Springer admitted that in addition to the 911 operator, he also told several others he didn’t know who shot him, including: bystanders who helped, Dickson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jerone Holt, EMS workers, the LifeFlight helicopter crew, the staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and law enforcement that visited him in the hospital.

Yow asked if Springer said Kurtis Primm was the shooter days later, after “repetitive questioning.” Springer said yes.

“I was scared for my life. I didn’t know who was around me,” Springer said.

He added: “I didn’t want to believe it” about Kurtis Primm allegedly shooting him.

Crouch asked how the situation made Springer feel in that moment and in the months and years that followed.

“Anger. Sadness. Fear. Hatred. All balled up into one,” Springer said.

He said it “affected” all of their families.

“We are all extremely close,” Springer said. “It don’t make sense to me. I never understood it.”

What's next? 

A new trial date for both Isiah Primm and Hughes will be determined on Nov. 13. Jake Fendley is the attorney for Isiah Primm, and Chris Clark is the attorney for Hughes.