Jeff StylesProsecutors on Thursday dismissed vandalism and aggravated assault charges filed against a longtime Chattanooga radio host.
Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said he would not present Jeff Styles' criminal allegations to a grand jury and try to secure an indictment. Prosecutors can and do dismiss charges without presenting them to a grand jury.
"After reviewing the case file and the recording of the preliminary hearing the DA found insufficient evidence to meet the burden of proof [beyond a reasonable doubt]," his spokeswoman, Melydia Clewell, wrote in an email.
Police said Styles, a popular WGOW host, swung a tomahawk into driver Nickolas Bullington's window while they were stopped at the intersection of Highway 153 and Grubb Road around 4 p.m. on June 15.
Police said Bullington shot Styles in the hand with a pistol and then left to find a safe place to call authorities. Bullington had seen Styles driving aggressively on Highway 27 beforehand, police said, and a witness backed up his account.
Styles responded he was acting out of self defense. As they made gestures to one another while driving, Styles said, Bullington brandished a handgun that Styles could see in his rearview mirror.
When they stopped, Styles said he was convinced Bullington was going to shoot him. His attorney, Lee Davis, said Styles grabbed a tomahawk, got out of his car and swung at the same moment Bullington opened fire. In a website he created, Styles reiterated that Bullington was the agitator and linked to what appeared to be Bullington's prior criminal charges.
During a hearing in August, General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes said he found probable cause that Styles committed the crimes as charged. Starnes sent the case to a grand jury, which is a panel of citizens that hears cases and determines whether a person's criminal charges can proceed. The case was pending before Pinkston's decision.
After the incident, WGOW's parent company, Cumulus Communications, placed Styles on leave pending an internal investigation. The company announced in August that it was ending its relationship with Styles.