Repeat Offender Sentenced after Breaking into Cousin’s Home

DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the Career Gang Unit obtained a fifteen-year sentence against a repeat offender who broke into his cousin’s house and stole money.  Darrick Ashley Grider, 44, was convicted of Aggravated Burglary.  At a sentencing hearing today, Judge Scott Green ordered Grider to serve the maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison without the possibility of parole.

In a one-day trial in January, Assistant District Attorneys TaKisha Fitzgerald and Marissa Pecora explained to the jury that on August 8, 2022, Ofc. Charles Kuykendall with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary call at a residence off Western Avenue.  At the scene, Ofc. Kuykendall learned from the victim that her cousin, Grider, had broken into her house, ransacked the kitchen, and stolen money that was on the counter.  The KCSO Forensics Unit responded to photograph the scene and collect fingerprints.  Examination of the fingerprints corroborated the victim’s identification of Grider as the burglar.

“This repeat offender will now be off our streets for many years to come,” said DA Allen.

Grider has nine prior felony convictions from other jurisdictions, including three prior convictions for Aggravated Burglary.  Aggravated Burglary is a Class C felony that carries a punishment between ten and fifteen years because of Grider’s prior criminal history.  Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Sheri Burkett and Legal Secretary Cathleen Wilson aided in the prosecution of this case.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.