SMITHVILLE, Tenn. — Special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation say a grand jury has charged Warren County District Attorney General Chris (Christopher Robert) Stanford in a shots-fired incident that happened during a fugitive pursuit in Smithville last fall.

According to the TBI, the investigation began on November 21, 2024, after agents learned Stanford allegedly fired several rounds on Bell Street, and a bullet struck an occupied home where a woman and her three children were inside. In December 2024, a DeKalb County Grand Jury returned a sealed indictment charging Stanford with reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm into an occupied habitation. He later surrendered at the DeKalb County Jail and was released on a $10,000 bond after his January arraignment.

Court schedule - Stanford appeared this week in DeKalb County Criminal Court. District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway said Stanford’s next court date is November 24, which is the deadline to enter a plea. If no plea is entered, attorneys will argue motions that day. A trial is set for January 7 if the case is not resolved.

How the incident unfolded - Authorities said officers were trying to arrest Caleb Dias Brookins, 28, and Jessica Root, wanted in a triple-murder investigation out of Warren County, along with Hannah McKenzi Rose, 21, of Antioch. During the encounter, a Homeland Security agent from Warren County suffered a leg injury when a vehicle driven by Rose tried to get away with Brookins as a passenger. Before that, Rose allegedly rammed a DeKalb County Sheriff’s truck.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said Stanford fired at Rose’s vehicle, but neither the car nor the suspects were hit. The TBI later determined a round entered a nearby home, traveling through a patio chair and lodging in a living room wall. Brookins fled on foot and was arrested a few hours later; he was unarmed at the time. Sheriff Ray noted Root has family ties to the area.

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