From the Office of Jody Pickens, District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District
Convicted Felon Sentenced to Effective Sentence of Seventy-Eight Years for Attempted First Degree Murder and Weapons Charges
On June 10, 2021, at approximately 9:24 P.M., Officer Josh Michael of the Jackson Police Department responded to a shooting call in the North Royal apartment complex of Jackson, Tennessee. Officer Michael located a victim who had suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen, as well as a witness to the shooting. The witness identified the shooter to Officer Michael as an individual she knew on Facebook by the alias “Mac Taz,” and stated that he fled the scene after shooting the victim. The victim had come to the apartment complex to bring the witness food.
During the investigation into the incident Sergeant Jay Stanfill of the Jackson Police Department developed Ambreia Washington, age 40, of Jackson, Tennessee, as a suspect.
Subsequently, both the witness and victim positively identified Washington as the shooter. Stanfill searched phone records for additional evidence and discovered text messages that Washington sent to the witness moments before the shooting, warning her that no other man should come around her apartment or else face consequences.
On February 28, 2022, a Madison County, Tennessee, Grand Jury indicted Ambreia Washington for Attempted First Degree Murder, multiple counts of Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, as well as multiple counts of being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
The weapons charges stem from the Defendant’s multiple prior felony convictions, many of which were violent in nature. Those convictions include a 2002 conviction for Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Sell or Deliver, a 2003 conviction for Aggravated Assault and Vandalism Over $1000, a 2004 conviction for Felony Evading Arrest and convictions for Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Assault and Attempted Aggravated Kidnapping in 2006.
In addition to his felony convictions, the Defendant had several misdemeanor convictions including a conviction for Resisting Arrest, five convictions for Driving on Suspended License, six convictions for Evading Arrest, two convictions for Vandalism, two convictions for Domestic Assault, Escape, two convictions for Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Possession of Marijuana.
On September 28, 2022, Assistant District Attorney Bradley F. Champine represented the State in a trial that ended with a Madison County Jury finding the Defendant guilty of all counts in the indictment.
On December 5, 2022, Judge Joseph Howell sentenced the defendant Washington to sixty-three years in prison, a sentence which will be consecutive by law to a fifteen-year sentence he is already serving for an unrelated conviction for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. That case, which was tried earlier in 2022, involved a November 2021 traffic stop where the Defendant was found in possession of a firearm by Officer Josh Keller of the Jackson Police Department. At the time he was arrested in November, 2021, for being a violent felon in possession of a firearm, the Defendant was out on bail for the attempted murder charges.
“Both his actions in this case and his criminal history illustrate that Ambreia Washington is a dangerous individual,” said District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens. “Thankfully the victim and witness to his crime chose to cooperate with law enforcement and name this dangerous offender to law enforcement and then bravely testify against him at trial rather than choosing to remain silent. Because of their cooperation, the Jackson Police Department was able to put together an investigation which allowed Assistant District Attorney General Bradley Champine to present a case that resulted in a jury convicting the Defendant as charged. Through the efforts of law enforcement and an involved citizenry, Jackson and Madison County is a safer place. Building a safer community starts with people standing up to violent crime.”
