KPD: Wise man’s crime spree included attempted arson, burglary & vandalism

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — A man from Wise, Virginia was arrested in Kingsport Tuesday morning after reportedly committing a barrage of crimes that included driving a stolen Jeep into a grocery store and allegedly trying to set a coffee shop on fire.

A news release from the Kingsport Police Department (KPD) said Tristan Sexton, 24, was arrested at around 8:32 a.m. following a foot chase near a McDonald's on West Stone Drive. The arrest came after a series of reported crimes throughout Tuesday morning, which the KPD determined Sexton was the culprit of.

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The KPD reported that around 4:44 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to reports of a car crashed into the front of the Price Less Foods on West Stone Drive. Officers located a Jeep that had been "driven through the front wall of the store" and soon learned it was stolen from the parking lot of that business.

The release stated that while officers were investigating the stolen vehicle and crash, they were dispatched to a reported gas line rupture just across from the grocery store at a Scooter's Coffee.

"It was discovered the Jeep Cherokee in the crash was driven by a white male to the location where he damaged the gas line," the release states. "Upon rupturing the gas line, the male then proceeded to fire a flare gun toward the leaking gas to catch the building on fire. Kingsport detectives were called to both scenes to investigate."

Then at 7:27 a.m., the KPD stated officers were called to the Watterson Street area amid reports of vandalism to vehicles. Police discovered that a white male had allegedly broken the windows of three cars and taken various items from two of them, according to the release.

The KPD reports that while police were investigating that incident, witnesses observed a white male allegedly put purple paint on a squad car and wrote obscene messages on the car.

The descriptions of the suspect in both the vandalism of the police car and burglary on Watterson Street matched that of Sexton, the release said.

At around 8:32 a.m., Sexton was located near the West Stone Drive McDonald's, and as officers approached him, he fled on foot. The release said after a foot chase, he was apprehended and police observed purple paint on his right hand. Property from the burglarized vehicles on Watterson Street was located in Sexton's backpack, according to the release.

"After reviewing video from Scooter's and Price Less Food's, Kingsport detectives determined that Sexton was the same individual who stole the 2014 gray Jeep Grand Cherokee, attempted to set fire to Scooter's, and drove the stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee into Priceless Foods," the release states.

Sexton was charged with the following by the KPD:

The release said additional charges are pending.