Johnson City Man Arraigned in Son’s Death

The Johnson City man charged with the death of his two-year-old son was arraigned on first-degree murder, along with other charges, on Tuesday.

Christopher Alan Mitchell, 25, 309 North Road, was staying at the Value Place Hotel, 174 Pinnacle Road, when his two-year-old son, Jacob Mitchell allegedly retrieved a loaded gun from a kitchen cabinet.

However, the boy’s father claims it was an accident. According to Mitchell’s arrest warrant, the man told police he hid his fully loaded handgun in a kitchen cabinet, a cabinet he admits the boy got into before. Mitchell said when he awoke around 10:30 Sunday night, he heard a noise that sounded like a firecracker going off.

Investigators are now sending evidence to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in hopes that evidence will help them determine exactly how the boy died.

Mitchell was arraigned in Johnson City Sessions Court on Tuesday via video arraignment on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and criminal impersonation.
At the time of his arrest, there was also an outstanding warrant for a probation violation - filed a year ago on Jan. 7, 2008.

Mitchell has a preliminary hearing scheduled on Jan. 20 at 9 a.m.