Wednesday, April 28, 2010

GREENEVILLE, Tenn – Christopher Alan Mitchell, 26, of Johnson City, Tennessee, was sentenced today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, at Greeneville, to 15 years in prison and, upon completion of his sentence, five years supervised release. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea by Christopher Mitchell on June 2, 2009, to a federal indictment charging him with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On January 11, 2009, at approximately 10:25 p.m., officers of the Johnson City Police Department were called to The Value Place Hotel, to assist on a 911 medical call. The caller reported that a two-year-old boy had suffered a serious head trauma and was having great difficulty breathing. Upon arrival, officers found the defendant, Christopher Alan Mitchell, in his beige Mazda pick-up truck at the rear of the hotel. Subsequent investigation revealed a silver, .25 caliber, Phoenix Arms pistol which had been discarded on top of the motel’s outside electrical box located directly in front of the defendant’s vehicle. The boy was Christopher Mitchell’s son, Jacob Mitchell. The child was later pronounced dead due to a gunshot wound to the head.

Christopher Alan Mitchell was taken to the police station where he identified himself as Jarret Daniel McKee. It was later determined that Mitchell had given the officers a false name. Mitchell admitted that the Phoenix Arms, .25 caliber pistol found in front of his truck and on top of the electrical box at the hotel was his.

Mitchell is also currently facing charges of First Degree murder, arising from the death of his son, in the Criminal Court of Washington County.

Johnson City Police did an outstanding job on the investigation of Jacob’s death and that investigation, and the subsequent work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, led to the indictment and conviction of Christopher Mitchell. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Whittemore represented the United States.