Man Cleared Of Murder Back In Jail On Child Abuse Charges

A Kingsport man who was cleared recently of first degree murder by a jury, is now facing accusations of felony child abuse against an infant. 24 year old Zachary Morris Gardner was arrested this week for knowingly inflicting serious bodily injury on a child and use of a deadly weapon used to accomplish the act. The child was one month old at the time of the alleged event. In 2016, Gardner was cleared of first degree first degree murder involving the death of 22 year old Huey Stanley Jr. The two got into an altercation at the Kingsport YMCA and during the fight, Gardner stabbed Stanley in the neck resulting in his death. A jury found him not guilty. Gardner remains in the Sullivan County Jail on the Child Abuse charges.