Tennessee’s legal hierarchy was disrupted when District Attorney General Chris Stanford was charged in connection with a chaotic pursuit of triple homicide suspects. DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray announced that Stanford has been charged with reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm into an occupied habitation following an incident in November near Smithville's Bell Street Apartments.
According to WSMV, the 43-year-old district attorney fired shots at a vehicle attempting to flee the arrest scene. The vehicle, which was not hit by the gunfire, contained Caleb Dias Brookins and Jessica Root, who were wanted in connection to a Warren County triple homicide. Remarkably, neither the suspects nor the vehicle were struck by the shots fired by Stanford.
As reported by NewsChannel 5, Stanford's involvement went beyond his prosecutorial duties. Suiting up in body armor and armed, the district attorney claimed to be POST-certified, although the Tennessee Department of Insurance and Commerce found no records confirming this. During the episode, Stanford discharged his weapon three times, with bullets hitting the front wall of an apartment, penetrating into a living room where a mother and her children were present.
The district attorney's actions led to his inability to prosecute the case he tried to involve himself in.
Stanford turned himself in and was released on a $10,000 bond, as per the WKRN. The incident also resulted in the injury of a Homeland Security officer, who sustained a leg injury when a car driven by 21-year-old Hannah McKenzi Rose collided with a deputy's truck while attempting to flee the arrest perimeter. Stanford's shots put a nearby family in imminent danger of death or serious injury. Stanford is scheduled to appear in DeKalb County General Sessions Court on January 7.
