HAWKINS COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Morristown man on aggravated assault charges.

At the request of 3rd District Attorney General Dan Armstrong, TBI special agents began investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred on May 24, 2020, in Hawkins County. The investigation revealed that deputies with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle that was found along N VFW Road in Bulls Gap. Deputies determined the driver, identified as Michael Lee Snyder (DOB 1/13/76), had an outstanding warrant out of Hamblen County. With the assistance of a K9 team from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Snyder was located a short distance away, hiding in a tree. Snyder pointed a gun at deputies, resulting in a Hawkins County deputy and the Greene County deputy firing shots, striking him. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

On June 1, 2021, the Hawkins County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Snyder with two counts of Aggravated Assault. This weekend, he was located and arrested by authorities in Cherokee, North Carolina. He is currently being held in the Jackson County Detention Center, pending extradition to Tennessee.

Published by Leslie Earhart