NEWPORT MAN INDICTED, CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COUNTS OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND KIDNAPPING

NEWPORT MAN INDICTED, CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COUNTS OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND KIDNAPPING

COCKE COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Newport man in connection to an officer-involved shooting that occurred in December.

At the request of 4th Judicial District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI agents began investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred on December 9, 2022. The incident occurred after the Newport Police Department received a report of a man in the area of East Broadway waiving a handgun. The man was identified as Gary Ball (DOB: 1/31/87). Officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Ball refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. The investigation revealed that during the pursuit, which took place in the area of E Highway 25/70 and North Street, Ball pointed a gun at a female passenger and fired numerous shots in the direction of deputies with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Newport Police Department. At one point, Newport officers returned fire. No one was struck. Ball also fired a shot in the direction of a pedestrian. Further investigation revealed that after the pursuit ended on Fairview Street, Ball got out of the vehicle with the female passenger, threatened her with a gun, and held her against her will. He then ran from the area but was eventually located and taken into custody.

Last week, a Cocke County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Gary Ball with two counts of Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, one count of Aggravated Kidnapping, nine counts of Aggravated Assault, and one count of Evading Arrest. On Tuesday, he was served in the Blount County Jail, where he was already being held on a parole violation.