BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Kenneth Wayne DeHart Jr.'s case has been bound over to a grand jury after the state argued Tuesday he should be charged with premeditated first-degree murder in the Feb. 8 shooting death of Blount County Deputy Greg McCowan.
DeHart appeared Tuesday morning in Blount County General Sessions Court for a preliminary hearing in the shooting death of McCowan and the wounding of Deputy Shelby Eggers. Judge William Brewer sent the case for grand jury review following the two-hour hearing.
Authorities charged DeHart in warrants with the shooting. State prosecutors made the case for charging DeHart with premeditated first-degree murder in McCowan's death and attempted first-degree murder.
The state argued to Brewer that they'd shown probable cause for a grand jury to consider the case. Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond said videos and evidence in the case made it clear in his eyes that the shooting was premeditated.
"I made a tally as I was watching this video, and I counted 37 times they either asked lawfully or told lawfully for the defendant to exit the vehicle," he said. "It was his decision to refuse those requests 37 times that led to us being here today, your honor, and you do not point a gun at two individuals and pull the trigger six times unless you intend to kill them.
"You do not point a gun at a man lying helpless on the ground and pull the trigger unless you intend to kill him."
Public defenders representing DeHart had no objections to the case being bound, but they argued the shooting was not premeditated and that DeHart should face a second-degree murder charge.
DeHart was arrested last week at a home in East Knoxville after a nearly week-long search across East Tennessee. A Blount County grand jury is scheduled to meet to hear the case on April 5.
You can watch Tuesday's hearing below:
Deputies in the courtroom wore the number 344 -- Deputy McCowan's badge number -- over their own badges.
Deputy Eggers speaks for the first time
Deputy Eggers, who was still recovering from her wounds, walked into the courtroom on crutches and spoke about the night of the shooting off Sevierville Road.
The public heard from Eggers for the first time when Desmond called her to the stand. She said she was shot in the leg and was sure she would die that night.
"Everything kind of went into slow motion. I took a breath and accepted death... I thought he was going to fire at me again."
DeHart sat at the defense table and looked at Eggers at times while she testified. Desmond asked her details about what led up to the traffic stop with DeHart.
Eggers said she works the second shift and was assigned to patrol a northern district of Blount County on Feb. 8.
She testified she pulled DeHart Jr. over after she saw him swerve several times on Sevierville Road. She said Deputy McCowan was not her assigned partner, however, he was one of the officers she could call as backup working that night.
Eggers testified that BCSO deputies typically back up each other during traffic stops and that she communicated with McCowan before he got to the scene. She said she told DeHart she had probable cause to search his vehicle because she smelled marijuana and asked him to get out multiple times, but she said he declined.
“I let him know if he didn’t willingly step out of the vehicle, I would have to forcibly remove him,” she said.
Once McCowan got on the scene she said they continued to tell DeHart to get out of the vehicle, but he didn’t comply. She again tried to physically remove him.
“He was able to grab ahold of my forearm,” she said about the interaction. “We was kind of tussling.”
Eggers said she and McCowan warned DeHart about the Taser, but he wouldn’t get out of the car.
Shortly after, they shot him with the Taser. The first attempt wasn’t successful, so they shot the Taser at him a second time. She said at this point she tried to take DeHart’s seatbelt off but got shocked by the Taser wires shortly after.
She said DeHart then began shooting at them.
At this point in the hearing the prosecution showed video from Eggers' and McCowan’s police cruisers and bodyworn cameras.
DeHart paid attention to the videos, which were on a screen directly to his right.
Afterward, Desmond asked Eggers about her wounds. She said she had one bullet entry wound, above her right knee, and two exit wounds on her right leg.
Blount County Chief Public Defender Mac Garner cross-examined Eggers. He asked her what she was assigned to do on the night of the shooting.
Eggers said she was doing a routine patrol. Eggers said she believed DeHart's driving was endangering people and said she had reason to pull him over from what she saw that night.
Garner asked Eggers to confirm if she smelled marijuana on DeHart. Eggers said she did. She said when she pulled him over DeHart seemed excited, nervous and "defensive" when she was talking with him initially.
Garner then asked her if she could tell where the smell came from.
“No sir,” Eggers said. “It could’ve been from DeHart or the vehicle.”
“How strong was the smell?” Garner asked.
“Strong enough for me to notice it,” Eggers said.
Garner asked if Eggers could tell from DeHart’s eyes or complexion if he was intoxicated by marijuana. She shook her head no.
Garner also asked Eggers if she saw a gun in DeHart’s vehicle. She said she did not see DeHart pull his gun out and didn't know where it came from. She said she believed she heard five shots and said the first shot hit her and believed the second and third shots hit McCowan.
"For what it's worth, deputy, I have no further questions and thought you handled a difficult situation very well," Garner said.
Lead TBI agent testifies
Special Agent Maria Cutshaw with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called up to testify next during the hearing. She is leading the officer shooting portion of the case and responded that night -- saying several agents were also called out that night. She interviewed three people at the scene during the incident, including DeHart.
She said there were six .40 caliber ammunition shell casings, two 9mm casings as well as two live 9mm rounds taken from the scene based on the TBI's evidence list. She said Eggers and McCowan carried Glock handguns, which use 9mm bullets. She testified the 9mm casings and rounds were from Eggers’ firearm.
Jenkins asked her about the weapon DeHart is accused of using.
Cutshaw said several search warrants were executed regarding weapons and investigators found a box for a .40 caliber pistol and a gun in different locations.
She testified the gun box was found at the home of Carrie Matthews. Matthews is charged with being an accessory to DeHart in connection to the case.
Cutshaw said that she also was present for McCowan’s autopsy.
She said he had gunshot wounds on the right side of his nipple and in his left lower abdomen. She said two “intact projectiles” were found in his body, but said investigators are still waiting for test results on the projectiles.
Jenkins asked Cutshaw if she was present for any interview with DeHart after his arrest. Cutshaw said she and another officer attempted to interview him, but DeHart kept asking for an attorney.
She said he did make several statements.
“He regretted not staying at the ball game with his son and regretted turning down the road,” Cutshaw said.
“Did he regret shooting the officers?” Jenkins said.
“He did not make that statement,” Cutshaw said.
Blount County Public Defender Matt Elrod cross-examined Cutshaw. He asked Cutshaw about what Tasers do.
Cutshaw said she didn’t feel comfortable answering since she hadn’t been trained on a Taser in 20 years, but said, “They’re used as a less lethal device.”
Elrod asked Cutshaw if any photos of DeHart, or the areas where the taser touched his body, were taken. Cutshaw said Blount County jail staff took photos of DeHart after he was taken into custody.
Elrod also asked Cutshaw about search warrants written and executed in the case. She said there were numerous warrants.
When asked about the search warrant at Carrie Matthew’s residence and what police found there, she said officers found a .357 pistol and the box for a .40 caliber weapon.
Elrod also asked about other warrants in the case. Cutshaw testified that the list was “rather lengthy” and included warrants for vehicles, cellphones and more.
The shooting
On Thursday, Feb. 8, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the two deputies tried to pull over DeHart in the 4900 block of Sevierville Road in Maryville around 8:30 p.m. for "suspicion of erratic driving." BCSO mentioned Friday afternoon during a press conference the driver was not staying in their lane.
DeHart, "would not cooperate with deputies" and refused to get out of the vehicle, according to the TBI.
The TBI said deputies used a Taser on DeHart with no effect and at some point during the encounter, he pulled out a gun and shot both deputies.
At least one of the deputies returned fire, according to the TBI.
43-year-old Deputy Greg McCowan was taken to a hospital where he later died. The other deputy, Deputy Shelby Eggers, was transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. She has since been released and is now recovering at home, BCSO said.
On Friday afternoon, deputies announced they arrested Marcus DeHart, Kenneth DeHart's brother, for accessory after the fact. They said he helped DeHart after the shooting and is being held on a $1 million bond.
Deputies also arrested the suspect's girlfriend, Carrie Mathews, for accessory after the fact. According to court records, a Sevier County Sheriff's Office deputy went to a home on McCleary Road while searching for DeHart.
The deputy said she got a call from "Janeisha" while authorities were at the home. Deputies said she answered the call. They said it was actually DeHart calling from the number. According to court records, she told the caller, "They're here," and ended the phone call.
"This action by Ms. Mathews warned Mr. Dehart of impending apprehension or discovery. She was taken into custody and transported to SCSO Main Jail," court records said.