Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Cocke County homicide
A Cocke County man is in custody after he allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend Monday evening and then held law officers at bay for several hours. Cocke County sheriff Armando Fontes says Alfred Terry Brooks, 45, Upper Bison Road, Cosby is being held without bond on charges of First Degree Murder and manufacture of marijuana. Deputies responded to a 911 call at approximately 10:36 pm from Barbara Hawk, a neighbor of the suspect who said that Brooks had contacted her by phone and to say that he shot and killed his girlfriend. Hawk said her son, Chuck Hawk went to the residence to check on the female who lived there and returned home to say the female victim was dead and the suspect was angry and making threats. Officers learned that Brooks was at his residence armed with several guns and had said he was not going to kill himself, but planned on shooting law enforcement officers when they approached his residence. "He wanted to force law enforcement to shot him, making it a 'suicide by cop' situation," the sheriff said. At that point the Newport/Cocke County tactical response team was activated, but after surveying the layout of the property it was determined there was no safe way to approach the residence because of the rugged terrain and poor road conditions. So Sheriff Fontes requested assistance from the Morristown SWAT team along with an armored personnel carrier in an effort to guarantee the safety of the officers. Sheriff Fontes and Chief John Carrell, with the assistance of Barbara Hawk and her son Chuck Hawk, "were able to calm the shooter down and and arrange a peaceful surrender," the sheriff said. At approximately 2:08 am the shooter was taken into custody by members of the the local Tactical Response Team and Morristown Swat Team, without incident. Officers secured the residence and located the female victim in the living room with an apparent single gun shot to the face. At press time, officers were attempting to notify the family of the unidentified victim. Officers obtain consent to search the property and were able to locate the possible murder weapon, along with other weapons and several flower pots around the residence containing marijuana plants. " Detective Robert Thornton obtained a confession from the suspect," the sheriff said. Additional charges are pending completion of the investigation.


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