A Tennessee man is facing a raft of felony charges after allegedly attacking a woman on the night of Nov. 11. The 23-year-old Bristol resident is accused of strangling the woman and holding a loaded handgun to her head. Reports indicate that he is being detained at the Sullivan County Jail on a bond of $250,000 and has been charged with attempted murder, methamphetamine possession with the intent to distribute, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, domestic vandalism, reckless endangerment and aggravated kidnapping.
Bristol police say that the sequence of events began when they responded to the scene of a domestic dispute on Kentucky Avenue. The female victim told responding officers that the man had tried to kill her and fired a gun inside the residence. Reports suggest that the man complied with police officers and was taken into custody without further incident.
A subsequent search of the residence is said to have led to the discovery of about 1.5 pounds of a substance that police believe to be methamphetamine. Officers say that this leads them to suspect that the man was involved in the Sullivan County narcotics trade. However, initial accounts do not indicate if the alleged dispute is believed to have been over drugs.
Prosecutors often file a long list of additional charges against individuals accused of committing serious drug crimes. Facing a barrage of criminal counts could encourage defendants to cooperate in return for leniency, and additional charges can be used by prosecutors as bargaining chips during plea negotiations. Experienced criminal defense attorneys may anticipate this strategy. Depending on the situation, they might advise their clients to concentrate on the primary issues facing them and not worry too much about the individual charges against them.