BY KEN LITTLE
STAFF WRITER
Charges of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of felony reckless endangerment were bound over to a Washington County Grand Jury Tuesday at a preliminary hearing for Derrick Dakota Kitzmiller, 20, of Gray.
Kitzmiller exchanged gunfire with a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper Jan. 3 after a vehicle pursuit that ended on Hog Hollow Road near Gray.
Additional charges against Kitzmiller of felony evading arrest, driving 110 mph in a 70 mph zone, driving on a suspended license, failure to maintain lane, a registration violation and a due care violation were also bound over to the grand jury, the court official said.
The passenger in the car driven by Kitzmiller, 35-year-old Jennifer Russell, of Bristol, also had a preliminary hearing Tuesday before Judge James Nidiffer.
Charges against Russell of aiding and abetting a suspended driver and altering or falsifying plates were bound over to a grand jury, a court official said.
Kitzmiller and Russell will have initial Washington County Criminal Court appearances on March 11.
The Jan. 3 vehicle pursuit began on Interstate 81 in Greene County and ended after Kitzmiller got off I-81 and crashed the car on Hog Hollow Road.
Trooper Noah Click said after the incident that windows of Trooper Jeff Applea's patrol car were shot out in an exchange of gunfire, which was at a range of about 25 feet. Applea returned fire after Kitzmiller allegedly shot at the trooper, Click said.
Kitzmiller remains held on $121,00 bond in the Washington County Detention Center. Russell is held in the same facility on $6,000 bond.








