Bristol Virginia Man Convicted In Federal Court Of Carjacking And Firearms Charges

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - On October 30, 2024, following a three-day trial in the United States District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, a jury convicted Charles Nile Mixon, 48, of Bristol, Virginia, of Carjacking in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 2119; Using and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii); Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in violation of 18. U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and Possession of a Stolen Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j).

Sentencing is set for March 6, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. before the Honorable Clifton L Corker, United States District Judge, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Mixon faces a minimum mandatory sentence of twenty-two years in federal prison.

According to witnesses, court documents, and evidence presented at trial, in the early morning hours of May 24, 2023, Mixon carjacked a victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Taco Bell restaurant in Bristol, Tennessee. Mixon forced the victim to give him the keys to the vehicle and then briefly held the victim at gunpoint inside the car. As Mixon fled the restaurant's parking lot with the victim in the passenger seat, the victim jumped from the moving car to escape. Within minutes, the Bristol Tennessee Police Department located Mixon in the stolen car just as he arrived at the Tennessee/Virginia state line and attempted to stop him. Mixon refused to stop and fled into Virginia. Evidence showed that he later dropped the victim's car at a gas station in Kingsport, Tennessee, before stealing an unattended vehicle at the gas station.

On May 25, 2023, Mixon woke up a relative to inform them that he had taken the relatives' firearm and used it to carjack the victim at the Taco Bell. The relative contacted law enforcement who responded. Mixon fled, but was arrested after a brief chase from Bristol, Virginia, into Bristol, Tennessee. A search of Mixon at the time of his arrest recovered the stolen firearm.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement.

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Bristol Tennessee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF").

Senior Officer Jared Patrick with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department led the investigation, along with Special Agent Jamie Jenkins of ATF.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Todd Martin and Emily Swecker represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communicates, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring results.

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