Monday, March 25, 2013
Deputy Reports Shot Fired While Searching For Suspect
A local law enforcement officer reported a shot was fired toward him while searching for the suspect in a domestic assault late Friday.
Reports filed through the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department show that deputies were dispatched to a Leoma home around 10:00 p.m. The victim reported she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Brannon Olive, age 33, had been arguing throughout the evening.
She said that she was afraid to ride inside the same vehicle with him, and that she had locked him out. He reportedly climbed into the truck bed and busted the sliding window, then reached inside and grabbed her by the hair.
The victim reported that they struggled, but she eventually let Olive inside and they began to drive home. She said that during the drive he began to frighten her, so she turned around and left him at the friend’s house.
Later, the victim said that Olive made his way back to their home. She told deputies that he kicked in the front door, which had been secured by a lock and deadbolt.
He got some of his clothes then left on foot, heading into a wooded area across the roadway. She said that she assumed he was walking to his grandmother’s house.
Deputies went to the grandmother’s house and were allowed to search the premises. They were unable to locate Olive at that time. One deputy heard what sounded like coughing in the woods, so deputies began to conduct a search of that area.
It was when one of the deputies was in the vicinity of McGee Lane that he reported someone had fired a shot in his direction. He was uninjured.
After concluding the search deputies went back to the grandmother’s house where they found Olive. He denied any wrong-doing, saying that he had been inside the home and had not seen any police officers in the driveway that evening. He said that the shot was probably fired by a neighbor.
Deputies noted Olive had sustained several small cuts and abrasions to his hands and forearms. Because he had not been inside the home when searched earlier, he was placed under arrest on charges of domestic assault and domestic vandalism. Olive was booked through the Lawrence County Detention Center with bond set at $3,000.
Reports show that both of Olive’s hands were swabbed for gunshot residue. The swabs were sent for analysis by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab.
Olive is set to answer the charges against him in Lawrence County General Sessions Court on April 16, 2013.
