NASHVILLE — Arrest warrants charging two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder have been issued against Jermaine Agee, 37, for Monday morning’s vicious knife attack on his estranged girlfriend and her two teenage children inside her 5712 Sonoma Trace home.
Dead from stab wounds are Mayra Garcia, 38, and her son, Jayden Taylor, 13. Garcia’s daughter, Alexis Taylor, 16, is in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Garcia’s third child, Kaytlin Taylor, 8, was physically unharmed.
The investigation at present shows that Agee forced his way into Garcia’s home through the rear door sometime before 2 a.m. He went to the kitchen counter, retrieved a butcher-type knife, and apparently went to the bedrooms. After inflicting stab wounds, Agee ordered the victims, excluding Jayden Taylor to sit on a sofa (Jayden Taylor had already been very critically stabbed in his bedroom and was found there by first responders. He was pronounced dead at Vanderbilt). While in the living room, Alexis Taylor engaged in a physical confrontation with Agee. She was joined by her mother. It is likely that additional injuries to the victims were inflicted then. Garcia fled through the front door of the residence and ran to a home across the street where she collapsed on the porch. She was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was pronounced dead. Alexis Taylor fled up the street to a neighbor’s home from where the 911 call was placed at 2:07 a.m. Kaytlin Taylor, uninjured, fled the residence and was taken in by a neighbor.
Agee stole the Garcia’s Volkswagen sedan and fled the neighborhood. The car was recovered before sunrise from a motel parking lot on Bell Road. Agee could not be located.
At midmorning, a suspicious person call (man with blood on him) was received from a Hickory Hollow fast food restaurant. Agee fled before officers arrived. The area was saturated, and Agee was found a short time later by South Precinct Officers Colin Feeney and Rickie Corman crouching beside a trash can in front of two businesses. He was taken into custody without incident. Agee had a hand injury caused by his forced entry into Garcia’s home. He was taken to General Hospital for treatment and released.
During the search for Agee, homeless persons in the area told officers that they were aware of him and that he had stayed at a nearby homeless camp.
At the time of the murders, Agee was wanted on a misdemeanor domestic assault warrant that was sworn out last Tuesday. In that case, officers were called to an elementary school where Garcia and Agee were arguing in the office. School staff noticed that Garcia had visible bruising to her face. Agee left school property after the argument. Garcia told officers that Agee hit her in the face multiple times the prior night during an argument. Police swore out the arrest warrant and assisted Garcia in obtaining an order of protection. His whereabouts between last Tuesday and this morning have not been determined.
BREAKING: Jermaine Agee refused to be interviewed by detectives and has just been booked into jail on murder and attempted murder charges. He was ordered held without bond. pic.twitter.com/LYhiYrKV2j
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) October 7, 2019
Agee is a convicted felon in Alabama. He served nearly 3 years from 2015 to 2018 for robbery and theft convictions. He was released from custody in June 2018.
