District Attorney Steve Finney announced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, that no criminal charges will be filed against the man who shot and killed Dalton Spaulding, 24, of Jonesborough. Finney, the district attorney general for Tennessee’s First Judicial District, said his office concluded the shooting was an act of self-defense.
The shooting happened on August 14 at a business on Roy Martin Road in Gray, Washington County, Tennessee. Spaulding was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Finney’s office, Spaulding was the primary aggressor in the altercation. Investigators said the confrontation began after Spaulding accused the other man of looking at his grandfather in a disrespectful manner. The grandfather had been waiting in the parking lot.
The altercation turned physical when Spaulding violently threw the man to the ground, causing the man’s prosthetic leg to become detached. Spaulding then continued the assault.
At that point the man fired four rounds from a .38 caliber revolver, striking Spaulding three times in the chest and arm.
The Johnson City Police Department investigated the case and gathered evidence including multiple corroborative witness statements and video surveillance footage that depicted the incident in its entirety. After reviewing the evidence, Finney’s office concluded the shooter acted in self-defense and declined to file charges. The shooter’s identity has not been publicly released.
WJHL first reported the district attorney’s announcement.
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