KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The charge against the 18-year-old arrested after a Rural King employee in Halls was fatally shot has been upgraded to first-degree murder.
The Knox County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion on Monday to charge Larry McBee Jr., 18, with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Tristan Smith. The motion was granted.
McBee was indicted on the first-degree murder charge in March 2023.
Smith was shot and killed while working at Rural King on Dec 22. McBee was arrested at 3:38 a.m. on Dec. 23 at a residence on McDonald Road after an overnight manhunt.
Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said following the shooting that Smith approached a shoplifting suspect in the store before he was shot during a “scuffle” behind the business.
His $2 million bond was revoked following a hearing on Dec. 28.
This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates.
McBee also faces charges of especially aggravated robbery, evading arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from two separate, unrelated incidents in October.
