Sullivan County man indicted, charged with assaulting agents

Published 12:05 pm Friday, March 17, 2023

SULLIVAN COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Kingsport man in connection to an officer-involved shooting that occurred in April of last year.

At the request of 2^nd Judicial District Attorney General Barry Staubus, TBI special agents assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division began investigating an officer-involved shooting incident that occurred on April 26, 2022, in Kingsport. The investigation revealed that TBI agents assigned to the Drug Investigation Division worked alongside the FBI to apprehend Cody Christian, who was wanted on federal charges. Christian was spotted in the parking lot of a restaurant along East Stone Drive in Kingsport. As agents attempted to take him into custody, he drove toward agents, resulting in one agent firing shots. No one was injured during the incident. Christian fled the scene but was located and taken into custody by officers with the Kingsport Police Department a few days later.

In May 2022, the Sullivan County grand jury returned indictments charging Christian with three counts of aggravated assault, one count of evading arrest, and one count of reckless endangerment. Today, Christian was transferred from federal custody to the Sullivan County Jail, where he was served and booked on the above charges.