Preliminary hearing set for Church Hill drive-by shooting suspect

A preliminary hearing has been set for next month for a man accused of a drive-by shooting last week in Church Hill.

Police responded to the shooting on April 6 at a home on Lloyds Chapel Road, where the homeowner told officers Isaiah Jose Nieves, 19, and the homeowner’s juvenile brother got into a fight before Nieves left in a black car.

An affidavit filed in Hawkins County Court says the homeowner and his wife were then awaken to gunshots and glass breaking. Four people were inside the home at the time of the reported shooting including an infant, according to the affidavit. While police were on scene, the affadavit claims Nieves called the victim’s wife and began making verbal threats over money that was owed to him, including saying “tonight was only the beginning, there will be blood in the streets”, and “there will be war now.”

Police obtained a warrant for Nieves’s arrest on four counts of felony reckless endangerment, and Nieves turned himself into police on April 9. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 17 at 1:00 p.m.

Photo Courtesy: Hawkins County Jail