King Mao assassination trial: Gant found guilty of murder of restaurant worker in 2020

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After hours of jury deliberations and four days of testimony, Jaelyn Gant, accused of murdering a Chinese restaurant employee, was found guilty of first-degree murder.

On December 2, 2020, at approximately 12:45 p.m., officers responded to King Mao Chinese Restaurant on Needmore Road where an armed robbery resulted in the death of an employee, 28-year-old Seth Stephens. The suspect fled and remained at large for nearly two years. During the course of the investigation, police arrested 31-year-old Gant and booked him into the Montgomery County Jail on November 9, 2022.

Gant had been charged with first-degree murder and other robbery-related offenses. On Friday, the jury found him guilty of lesser first-degree murder and all other charges.

Accusation: “Killed for $106 and my ego”

“He felt 'put on trial,'” said Assistant District Attorney Marianne Bell. “On December 2, 2020, Seth Stephens stood up to this defendant.”

Bell told the jury that while Stephens wasn't perfect, he was a reliable and hard-working employee. Stephens wasn't going to give Gant what he wanted, saying, “You're going to have to use that gun if you want that money.” But Gant, Bell said, wouldn't allow his ego to be bruised so easily.

“So (Gant) pointed his gun and fired – not once, not twice, but three times, until (Stephens) collapsed to the floor,” Bell told the jury. “Then he reached down, ripped all the money out of Seth's dying hand and ran, leaving Seth gasping for air and dying behind the counter of the restaurant.”

Bell said the reward for the restaurant robbery and Stephens' murder totals $106. She showed the screenshot from the video of Gant brandishing the silver revolver, one of many pieces of evidence, including a hoodie and a phone.

“He must have been so worried about the hot gun,” Bell said, smiling in disbelief as she pointed at Gant. “He's going to record video with it. Does that make sense? What does it say? Is he afraid of getting caught? Is he worried about what's happening and what he keeps checking on his phone: 'Seth Stephens killed in Clarksville'?”

“Or does he think, sitting there in his black hoodie with the silver gun in his hand – unemployed, looking like he's sitting in Wilmarie's (girlfriend's) car, living with a single mother – that he's made it and can get away with cold-blooded murder,” Bell said. “That's what it looks like to the state: greed, ego and violence.”

Defense: Still missing points

“There are several things I agree with General Bell on,” Gordon Rahn, Gant's attorney, told the jury. “I agree with her 100 percent on one point: Seth Stephens did not deserve this.”

Rahn reminded the jury that his client never denied that the weapons and evidence found in the wrecked Kia Sorento were his, and that during his testimony, Gant did not deny the search history on his phone but had difficulty remembering the wording.

“DNA doesn't lie,” Rahn said with a nod. “(Gant's) DNA was found on it. But what else? It was a mixture. His DNA wasn't the only DNA on that trigger and trigger guard. Someone else's DNA was on it, too.”

Rahn said there were discrepancies between the testimony of Rebeckah Fields (Gant's sister) and her initial interview with detectives. There are still some missing points, Rahn stressed. The state relied heavily on Fields' testimony, but there were no other eyewitnesses.

“She is going to the apartments with Mr. Gant, who allegedly planned the robbery,” Rahn said. “How does he know how long she will stay in the apartment? Will it be a few minutes?”

“And he goes to King Mao, supposedly commits this horrible crime, runs away from King Mao. How does he know she's going to be in that car? How does he know how long he's going to have to sit there after he commits this horrible crime, knowing that the police are going to come and he's just going to wait in that car?”

“My truth” vs. “the truth”

The state made a final argument against the defense when Chris West, the assistant district attorney, addressed the jury. “My Truth”, He repeated this as he took the revolver out of the evidence and showed it to the jury. “We do not require witnesses when they take the oath to tell 'my truth' or 'their truth.' They are asked to The Truth.”

West explained that “my truth” makes him think about how her experiences have influenced and changed her, quoting the old saying, “Well, that's my truth and I'm sticking to it.”

“All 30 witnesses there swore The Truth,” West stressed. “Mr. Gant swore an oath, went there and said he would say The Truth. Ladies and gentlemen, that took about a minute.”

West told the jury that it was their job to decide the facts.

“The whole statement from Mr. Gant that (Fields) somehow decided to give him a gun from Clarksville that everybody knew was hot,” West said while inspecting the revolver. “(Gant) is so concerned about Fields that he calls her last week and says, 'Are you going to work next week? Because I want peace of mind.'”

The verdict will then be announced at the Montgomery County Court Center.

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