DA: MISTAKE COST DEPUTY LIFE

Scott Officer Fired Fatal Shot During Meth Raid

HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. - A tragic mistake, made in a stress-filled split second
by a Scott County deputy inside a dimly lit mobile home where a meth raid
was going wrong, cost another deputy his life, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputy Marty Carson, 31, the son of Sheriff Jim Carson, believed he was
being confronted by a suspect armed with a shotgun when he fired a single
shot from his department-issued Glock 40-caliber handgun, District Attorney
General Paul Phillips said at a press conference called to reveal details
of the Friday night incident.

But the bullet struck and killed Sgt. Hubert "John John" Yancey, 35, who
had just rushed into the mobile home, apparently to assist his partner whom
he believed was in trouble.

"When he fired, Marty Carson thought he was the only police officer
inside," and he had just previously shouted a warning to other officers to
remain outside, Phillips said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting.

The bullet struck Yancey along the shoulder line above the area covered by
the vest he was wearing, Phillips said.

Yancey was buried Tuesday. At the request of his widow, Lori, Marty Carson
was one of the pallbearers.

"We have lost a wonderful public servant, John John Yancey, who was
vigorously working to rid this county of the methamphetamine that is doing
so much damage to our community," Phillips said. "It is the worst drug
(for) its impact on us that we have ever seen."

And Marty Carson "has lost his partner, he has lost his best friend, he is
completely devastated by this tragedy and needs the prayers of this
community," Phillips said.

"It's going to take a long time for him to come around and get through
this," Sheriff Jim Carson said of his son. "There is nothing worse than
this. (Marty and John John) were more like brothers - they worked so close
together. This is like I have lost one of my own family members."

Marty Carson, 31, is a nine-year veteran of the department, and was about
to be named chief deputy. He is now on leave and may undergo counseling,
his father said. Yancey was a six-year veteran. He was the father of three
children.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sessions Court Judge James Cotton set a Dec. 11
hearing for the four people who were living at the mobile home. Mark
Rector, 35, Ryan Douglas Clark, 28, Penny Carpenter, 28, and Nicole Windle,
26, are all charged with three counts each of manufacturing methamphetamine.

No weapons were found inside the mobile home.

It has not been determined with full certainty where all of the suspects
were and what they were doing at the time of the shooting, but none will
face any state charges in connection with Yancey's death, Phillips said.
The circumstances of the case do not meet the statutory requirements for
felony murder or any other death-related offense, he said.

"We looked at that very, very closely," Phillips said, because the report
of the suspects' meth lab operation was what caused the officers to go
there. "We are also asking federal authorities to take a look at this case."

There will be no charges against Carson, Phillips said. "This is nothing
more than a tragic accident. There was no wrongdoing on the part of the
officer."

Three of the suspects, including Windle, were inside the mobile home on
Williams Creek Road, and a fourth one was outside when Marty Carson, Yancey
and Sgt. Donnie Phillips and Deputy Carl Newport went to check out a tip
that a meth lab was operating there and that fugitives might be present.

The outside suspect gave the officers verbal permission to enter and
search, and Windle opened the door and let Marty Carson inside, Phillips
said. The other three officers remained outside to guard exit points.

Once inside, Carson could tell that someone was hiding behind the door of a
bedroom, Phillips said.

Carson's commands to the person or persons in the room to come out were
ignored, and the two women in the residence began screaming. "Carson heard
a sound that he thought was a shotgun being racked," Phillips said.

But it was later learned that what appeared to be a shotgun barrel sticking
through a hole in the bedroom door was the metal blade of a long-handled
sickle, which was being used to hold up part of a meth-cooking apparatus
inside the bedroom, Phillips said.

At some point during the rapidly unfolding confusion, the blade was jerked
out of the door, the door was opened briefly and Carson got a brief glimpse
of someone holding what he believed to be a shotgun.

Carson immediately sought cover by jumping back into a totally darkened
bathroom next to the bedroom. When he saw Yancey's form, Carson fired,
thinking he was an armed suspect who had left the bedroom to advance on
him, Phillips said.

After the shooting, all the suspects except Windle fled and were recaptured
later.

The Scott County Sheriff's Office referred a request for an incident report
and firearms discharge report to Phillips and the TBI. Phillips said he
doubts that such reports were generated because the sheriff's office so
quickly turned the case over to the TBI.