Man Shot by Pigeon Forge Police Charged with Mother’s Murder

A man shot by Pigeon Forge police officers after a chase through Sevier County on Friday has been charged with the murder his mother inside her Alcoa apartment.

Alcoa Police Chief David Carswell says 18-year-old Johnathon Alex Sellers, of Doll Avenue in Maryville, has been charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of his mother Kelly M. Brackin, 52.

Sellers was shot in an altercation with Pigeon Forge police Friday morning after they attempted to pull him over for a suspected DUI. An investigation of the incident by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that when Pigeon Forge police attempted to stop Sellers just before 4 a.m. on Friday, he led officers on a chase to Gatlinburg and then back to Pigeon Forge. Sellers vehicle traveled northbound on the Parkway and when he reached the Sevierville city limits, Sevierville police deployed spike strips and disabled his vehicle. Three Pigeon Forge officers fired upon Sellers when he exited the vehicle brandishing a shotgun.

Alcoa officers were dispatched to the Cherry Street home of Sellers’ mother for a welfare check at about 4:30 a.m. “When she did not answer the door, officers announced themselves and then made entry into the residence where they found her deceased,” Carswell said. “Detectives arrived on scene at 5:04 a.m. and initiated a homicide investigation.”

An autopsy confirmed the body was that of Kelly Brackin and that she died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

“After a thorough investigation, I am thankful to announce the individual responsible for Brackin’s death has been charged. On behalf of the Alcoa Police Department, our thoughts and prayers remain with the family.”

Sellers was treated for his injures at a local hospital, then transported to the Blount County Detention Center upon his release. He is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond pending a 1:30 p.m. hearing on Monday, March 4 in Blount County General Sessions Court.