Dabbs appears in court on charges related to February shooting incident

Bobby Dabbs, age 27, of Trenton, Tenn., made his initial appearance in Lincoln County Court on Monday, March 31, 2025, via Zoom video from the Lincoln County Jail. Dabbs is charged with multiple felony counts related to a shooting incident that occurred in the early morning hours of February 7 at X to C Golf Course, which left a Gleason area man hospitalized in critical condition.
Dabbs was taken into custody on March 17 by local law enforcement in Tennessee and subsequently extradited to the Lincoln County Jail. The arrest came after a nationwide warrant was issued by Lincoln County Judge Bayne-Allison following an extensive investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in cooperation with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee.
During Monday’s hearing in front of Judge Robert Russell, an amended criminal complaint was filed. District Attorney Kristopher Ellis explained that based on new information from the investigation, the charges were modified to include attempted first degree intentional homicide.
“When the case was first charged, it was believed that the defendant and the victim were more wrestling around on the ground, and then a firearm was involved and there was an accidental discharge, and the victim was injured due to that,” Ellis told the court.
However, Ellis stated that after speaking with the victim’s physician, investigators noted inconsistencies with the original story. The bullet had entered the victim at a downward angle, which didn’t align with claims of an accidental discharge during a scuffle.
Ellis said law enforcement traveled to Tennessee, where they interviewed a witness who changed his original statement. According to Ellis, the witness now claimed “that the witness had separated the victim and the defendant... the witness was between the two of ‘em while he was facing the victim. And the defendant was behind him, and then the firearm discharge came from behind witness and then hit victim in the neck.”
The victim was reportedly paralyzed in the incident and has only recently regained the ability to speak, though with difficulty.
Jessica Fehrenbach, who made a special appearance for the defendant and anticipates the public defender’s office will handle the defendant’s defense going forward, argued for a lower bond, noting that Dabbs had been allowed to return to Tennessee after the initial investigation without being detained. “By all accounts, he wasn’t fleeing, he was not hiding, he was not avoiding anything. He was let go by law enforcement,” she said.
After considering arguments from both sides, Judge Russell set a cash bond of $100,000 with conditions including no contact with the victim or the witness, and no possession of dangerous weapons.
Fehrenbach also filed a motion to dismiss counts 1, 2, and 3 of the amended complaint, arguing the complaint lacked probable cause. She pointed out that “the word accident is used five times in the complaint... where intentional is used zero times” and noted that Dabbs rendered aid to the victim after the shooting.
Judge Russell granted the defense motion to dismiss count one, the attempted first degree intentional homicide charge, finding “very little is alleged in the criminal complaint with respect to an intentional act.” The judge denied the motion to dismiss counts two and three, which included charges of first degree reckless injury and aggravated battery. The defendant will also still face count four, a charge of obstruction of an officer.
If convicted, count two carries a maximum fine of $100,000 and prison of up to 25 years or both; count three carries a maximum fine of $50,000 and prison of up to 15 years or both; and count four carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and prison of up to nine months or both.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 9 at 9 a.m. in Lincoln County Branch One.
This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, Dabbs is presumed innocent of all charges.