Two arrested, one charged in bar shooting

Two employees of Wild Things have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 30 shooting death of Ilonzo McGregor, 27, of Henderson.

Criminal complaints charging Jimmy Lee Hall, 29, of Kilgore with murder and Ray Lewis Gerstenberger, 65, of Tyler with deadly conduct were issued by the Gregg County district attorney’s office.

Sheriff ’s investigators and Texas Rangers arrested the two men Friday without further incident.

McGregor was shot early in the morning of Saturday, Jan. 30 in the parking lot at the Wild Thing, an after-hours club west of Kilgore on Hwy 31.

Hall, reported to be the manager at Wild Things, was arrested at his residence in Kilgore. An arraignment hearing Friday in the justice court of Judge B.H. Jameson was held and bond on Hall was set at $100,000.

Jimmy Lee Hall had been in trouble before. In July, 2001 he was charged in Gregg County with failing to yield to a vehicle in an intersection and speeding, and in June, 1999 he was just 18 when he was charged with assault causing bodily injury, also in Gregg County.

On Friday, the Gregg County Sheriff 's Office charged Ray Gerstenberger with deadly conduct involving the discharge of a firearm.

Gerstenberger is alleged to have fired toward the victim, but missed. He was reported to be a security guard / parking attendant at Wild Things.

Gerstenberger was arrested in Tyler and arraigned by Smith County Justice of the Peace Mitch Shamburger. Bond was set at $20,000.

In Smith County, Gerstenberger pled guilty in 1994 to a DWI in October, 1994.

Sheriff Maxey Cerliano said in a prepared statement, “We are pleased with the status of this investigation and how the evidence was positive for identifying the suspects. The case investigation will continue until the follow up action is completed.”

Forensic evidence that has been recovered, in addition to ongoing investigation, led to criminal complaints drafted by the district attorney’s office.

Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Arthur Fort was called to the scene around 6:30 a.m. in the early hours of Saturday, Jan. 30.

He said the shooting of Ilonzo McGregor appeared to happen after closing time at Wild Things.

McGregor was wearing black pants, black jacket, black shirt and black tennis shoes at the time.

“They were closing up at 4:30, and sometime between 4:30 and 5 the shooting occurred,” Fort said.

The autopsy indicated the death was due to a gunshot wound. He heard reports at the scene that McGregor was shot in the back, and that he had a gun. There were multiple guns recovered at the scene.

Fort said McGregor appeared to have wounds both on his back and on the front of his chest, but he didn’t know if one was an exit wound.

“I don’t know if he was shot in the back or shot in the chest – that’s not for me to determine. The autopsy came back that death was due to a shot to the chest,” Fort said, adding that it’s premature to speculate if the shot was to the front of McGregor’s chest or to his back.