KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A Knox County deputy's shooting of an armed man in November in a Powell neighborhood was justified, Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen has determined.
The deputy shot Skyler Charles Petrancosta, 28, the morning of Nov. 21 after neighbors said Petrancosta, a stranger in the area, fired indiscriminately around Norman Lane and barged into at least one home.
Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to 911 calls to the scene that Saturday morning. A deputy ended up shooting Petrancosta, an Illinois native, resulting in his hospitalization at University of Tennessee Medical Center.
"After reviewing the case file, the District Attorney’s Office determined that this officer-involved shooting was justified," DA's Office spokesman Sean McDermott said.
The TBI investigated the shooting, as is now standard in Knox County. The DA's Office has returned the file to the TBI, McDermott said.
Petrancosta was booked into county custody Dec. 13 after his hospitalization and remains in jail. He showed a Clinton address but is actually from the Chicago area.
He's got a felony record that includes time in prison, records show. He was a fugitive in Tennessee in November on an Illinois drug charge, records state.
Petrancosta has a Feb. 3 preliminary hearing in Knox County General Sessions Court.
In Knox County, he faces more than 15 charges that include attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
He's alleged to have shot at several motorists in the Emory Road area about 9 a.m. Nov. 21 with a handgun. Driving a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup, he rear-ended one driver several times near Emory and Clinton Highway before pulling up alongside and firing at least one gunshot into the driver's window, warrants state.
The man ducked down and escaped injury. Petrancosta drove off, warrants state.
He then proceeded to the Norman Lane area, between Emory Road and Brushy Valley Road.
Authorities say he fired shots in the neighborhood and entered one couple's home.
He was shot after he refused officers' orders to drop his weapon.