A Carter County man faces a criminal charge after police say he fabricated a story about his firearm being stolen from his residence.
On Tuesday, Deputies of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tristan Causby, 19, of 100 Carter Sells Road, Apt. 29, Johnson City, on a warrant charging him with filing a false report.
According to court documents, the charge against Causby stems from an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office that began on Dec. 20. On that day, CCSO Deputy Robert Bradshaw responded to an apartment on Highway 91 in the Stoney Creek area after residents called 911 to report a burglary.
When Bradshaw arrived at the apartment, he met with Caleb Rice and his roommate, who was identified as Causby. The two men told Bradshaw that sometime that day while they were at work someone had entered their apartment and stolen several firearms — four belonging to Rice and one belonging to Causby. The men provided the officer with descriptions of the weapons along with serial numbers for some of them.
“All windows to the apartment were locked and showed no damage. The front door to the apartment had damage around the deadbolt, which Mr. Rice stated was old damage,” Bradshaw said. “There was no damage to the door frame and no apparent new damage or tool marks to the door or striker plates.”
Bradshaw’s report on the incident was forwarded to the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. CCSO Investigator Penny Garland said on Dec. 28 she received word from Bradshaw that Rice suspected his roommate Causby was behind the theft. On Dec. 29, Garland and CCSO Investigator Tim Horne went to the apartment to speak with Causby.
“During our conversation, Tristan Causby admitted to taking the firearms belonging to Caleb Rice and selling or pawning most of them, but advised us that he had one at his grandmother’s resident,” Garland said. “I advised Mr. Causby to go and retrieve the weapon and bring it to the Carter County Sheriff’s Department where it was handed over to the owner.”
“The owner of the weapons, Caleb Rice, has decided that he did not wish to prosecute and has signed a non-prosecution waiver,” Garland added. “Due to the fact that Mr. Causby was fully aware that the weapon he had reported was not stolen at the time he initiated a police report, I am charging him with filing a false police report.”
Following his arrest on Tuesday, Causby was booked into the Carter County Detention Center but was alter released after posting a $1,500 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Carter County General Sessions Court on March 14.