Carjacking Suspect Sentenced to Sixteen Years
DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the Career Gang Unit obtained a sixteen-year sentence against a man who carjacked a woman in downtown Knoxville. Tyler Benjamin Christian, 32, was convicted of Carjacking and Driving on a Revoked License. At a sentencing hearing today, Judge Steve Sword ordered Christian to serve sixteen years in prison without the possibility of parole.
In a two-day trial in August, Assistant District Attorneys TaKisha Fitzgerald and Molly Martin explained to the jury that on March 20, 2024, Knoxville Police Department Officer Jason Boston responded to a carjacking call at Locust Street at Cafego Place in downtown Knoxville. Once on scene, Ofc. Boston learned that the victim had parked in front of Summit Towers to pick up Christian and co-defendant Elizabeth Nicole Terry to take them to the KAT Terminal. Christian approached the driver’s door, ripped the victim out of the driver’s seat, and jumped in the vehicle. Terry also assaulted the victim before jumping in the car, and the two left with the victim’s vehicle. The carjacking was captured by surveillance video. Christian and Terry were arrested after they crashed the vehicle a short time later.
“Quick work by the police department took these dangerous offenders off our streets, and hard work by the prosecutors in my office made sure they will stay off our streets for many years,” said DA Allen.
Christian has prior felony convictions for Aggravated Burglary, Theft, and Evading Arrest. Christian has also been identified as a member of the Rollin 20s Crips gang. Co-defendant Elizabeth Terry pled guilty to Carjacking and Aggravated Assault and was sentenced to serve eight years in prison. Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Kaitlyn Smith and Investigator Charlie Lee 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.