Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

An argument early Friday morning is thought to have sparked a shooting that left a Smith County man dead.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith told the Tyler Paper this afternoon that his office received a 911 call early Friday from a residence in the southern part of the county.

“About 1:38 this morning our office received a call there had been a shooting and there was at least one victim,” he said.

Smith said that when deputies arrived at the location at 15627 C.R. 192, they found 33-year-old Kerry Michael Boltman dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

Smith said deputies began gathering statements from multiple witnesses and called detectives to begin processing the crime scene for evidence.

“Family members told us that Boltman and a Bradley Allen Collins, 23, had gotten into an argument and Collins had shot Boltman,” he said.

Smith said deputies were able to locate Collins and arrested him shortly after the shooting.

Collins has been charged with murder and is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Smith said Collins had been living at the address with Boltman, but was not related.

“We are still investigating and I’m sure there will be more details later, but right now we have our suspect in jail,” he said.

Bradley Collins
(Courtesy Smith County Sheriff)