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Gun Violence in the Tri-Cities: Drugs, Outsiders, and Racial Dynamics

By Lewis Loflin | Published May 11, 2025

The Tri-Cities area—Bristol, Sullivan County, and Johnson City, Tennessee—faces persistent gun violence and assaults, driven by drugs, outsiders, and complex racial dynamics. This analysis examines key cases, focusing on data to highlight trends in intra-racial violence, inter-racial incidents, and the role of drugs.

Black-on-Black Violence: Drugs and Outsiders

Intra-racial Black-on-Black violence is a recurring pattern in the Tri-Cities, often tied to drugs and involving outsiders. Nationally, 89% of Black homicides are intra-racial (FBI 2022), and this holds true locally.

• September 8, 2024, Johnson City: Tyron Bland, 34, and Jayden Smith, 19, both Black, were charged in a shooting that killed Charles Dabney, 18, and injured another. Katy Scruggs, 22, a white female from Asheville, NC, was charged as an accessory after the fact. The incident stemmed from an altercation, with outsiders (Smith, Scruggs from Asheville, Bland from Greene County) involved.
• Derick Keese Murder: Three Black men, including Patrick Devin Camp from Gate City, VA, killed Keese in Kingsport, with a confirmed drug motive (crack cocaine).
• Jawaune Massey Double Murder (2005): Massey and others, all Black, killed two Black men in Kingsport during a cocaine-related robbery.

White-on-White Violence: The White Criminal Class

White-on-white violence, often tied to meth and fentanyl, reflects the ‘white criminal class’ in Appalachia. Nationally, 81% of white homicides are intra-racial (FBI 2022).

• September 5, 2024, Johnson City: A shooting killed a 39-year-old and injured a 34-year-old, likely involving a white perpetrator (Johnson City: 85% white). No drug motive confirmed.
• Timothy D. Blair (March 11, 2025): Blair, a white man from Johnson City, shot a JCPD officer, facing an attempted murder charge. No drug motive.
• Robert Lee Farmer (May 6, 2025): Farmer, a 43-year-old white man from Bristol, faces four counts of attempted second-degree murder for a Kingsport shooting.

Inter-Racial Dynamics and Press Incitement

Inter-racial incidents are rarer but significant. The September 8 shooting involved a white accessory (Scruggs) with Black perpetrators, suggesting shared criminal networks. A notable case is Lakeem Scott’s 2016 Bristol shooting, where a Black man targeted white individuals, killing one and injuring three, driven by racial motives. This should have been classified as a hate crime, with racial tensions fueled by press incitement following national incidents.

Conclusion

Drugs drive 30–40% of gun violence and 40–50% of assaults in Sullivan County, per national ratios. Black-on-Black violence often involves crack cocaine and outsiders, while white-on-white violence is tied to meth and fentanyl (40 overdose deaths in 2023). Inter-racial dynamics, like Scruggs’ role, suggest shared criminal networks, but cases like Scott’s highlight press-incited racial tensions. Strict enforcement (150 drug arrests in 2023) keeps crime rates low, but drugs remain a key driver across racial groups.