It\u2019s Saturday evening, and a group of women are working to tie shiny Mylar balloons to a bench at a park off of East Berry Street in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
The balloons spell out the name \u201cCody,\u201d for Cody Davontae Scott, who was shot dead<\/a> as he left a nearby gas station on Monday, Aug. 18. Two of the balloons come untied from the bench and drift away in the humid breeze; one of the women jokes that it\u2019s Scott, urging the group to get the party started.<\/p>\n Scott, 32, left his home at around 1:50 p.m. Monday after talking with his wife, Shayla Jordan, about getting her a new car, she told the Star-Telegram last week. By Wednesday morning, Jordan was a widow.<\/p>\n Christopher Jerome Blanton Jr., 29, a local country singer known by the stage name C\u2019ing Jerome, was initially arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Star-Telegram previously reported. The charge was upgraded to murder<\/a> after Scott died the next day.<\/p>\n Blanton told homicide detectives that he had fired at Scott\u2019s car as it sat next to him in traffic because he believed Scott had been following him and had pointed a pistol at him, according to an affidavit supporting his arrest. A friend of Blanton\u2019s who witnessed the shooting refuted that account, telling detectives he hadn\u2019t seen Scott with a gun and that he wasn\u2019t sure why Blanton shot at the vehicle.<\/p>\n Blanton was released from jail on a $180,000 bond last Thursday, the Star-Telegram previously reported.<\/p>\n At the balloon release honoring his son, Jeffrey Scott expressed frustration at Blanton\u2019s bond, which he thought was both too low and racially biased. If Blanton had shot a white person, Jeffrey Scott said, his bond \u201cwould have been at least half a million.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 More top stories from our newsroom:<\/b><\/p>\n \u2192 See how your child\u2019s school rates in new Texas A-F grades<\/a><\/p>\n \u2192 Jury hears of woman\u2019s grave under house at Fort Worth death penalty trial<\/a><\/p>\n \u2192 North Texas Powerball player just misses $531 million jackpot<\/a><\/p>\n