Acting on a tip submitted through East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, members of the Knoxville Police Department’s Community Engagement Response Team took wanted Michael Thomas into custody on Thursday evening.

Thomas, 18, was wanted for attempted first-degree murder stemming from a drive-by shooting that wounded a 41-year-old man in the 3700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on October 13, 2024. Thomas was identified as the suspect from that shooting following exhaustive investigative efforts led by the KPD Homicide Unit.

Thomas was located on Thursday evening at a home on Lilac Avenue. He attempted to run from officers, discarding a backpack in the process, but was quickly apprehended.

Officers found a large amount of narcotics in the bag that Thomas tossed away, including almost 70 grams of cocaine and over six grams of crack cocaine. Officers also recovered drug paraphernalia and over $800 in cash from suspected drug transactions.

In addition to the outstanding attempted murder warrant, Thomas was also charged with multiple drug offenses and evading arrest.