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| TN Correctional Officer Killed at Courthouse |
| By Knoxville News |
| Published: 08/10/2005 |
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A woman killed a prison officer and sprang her inmate husband during a daring and violent escape about 10 a.m. today at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston, Tenn. officials said. Authorities across the state began a manhunt for George Hyatte, 34, and his wife, Jennifer Hyatte, Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said. Correction officer Wayne "Cotton" Morgan died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center after being shot three times in the parking lot of the courthouse, according to authorities. Morgan was one of three prison officers who had taken George Hyatte for a court appearance in Kingston, a lakeside town about 35 miles west of Knoxville on Interstate 40. Kingston Police Chief Jim Washam said Hyatte's wife was in the courtroom during her husband's appearance on aggravated robbery charges stemming from an incident in Rockwood. Later, as officers were escorting George Hyatte out of the courthouse to a waiting prison van, authorities said Jennifer Hyatte pulled up in a blue Ford Explorer. "Hyatte hollered, 'Shoot 'em!,'" Washam said. Authorities said the woman fired six shots from a handgun, striking Morgan three times. Another correction officer returned fire, witnesses said. Twenty to 30 people who were milling about the parking lot scattered as the shots rang out. Witnesses said George Hyatte, shackled and handcuffed, climbed into the Explorer, which then drove toward the freeway. Dale Shelton of Anderson County, who was standing in the courthouse parking lot when the gunfire erupted, said he rushed to Morgan's side after the Explorer left. He held Morgan's hand until help arrived. "His eyes had done set," Shelton said. "I held his hand and told him to keep breathing." Morgan was taken to UT Medical Center aboard Lifestar emergency helicopter, officials said. He died at 11:10 a.m., according to UT Medical Center spokeswoman Lisa McNeal. Sluss said George Hyatte was scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. for trial. He was serving a 35-year sentence at the Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex in Morgan County for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault, Sluss said. She said the convictions stem from crimes Hyatte committed in Rhea County. Sluss described George Hyatte as a 34-year-old black male, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds. Jennifer Hyatte, 31, is 5 feet 4 inches tall, 140 pounds. She is white with red hair and hazel eyes. Officers later found the Ford Explorer abandoned at a nearby Subway sandwich shop. Restaurant manager Kelly Chadwell said she walked outside about 10:30 a.m. to find police officers surrounding the Explorer with weapons drawn. "It's crazy," Chadwell said. "I'm just glad nobody else got hurt." Washam said officers found blood on the driver's side of the vehicle, which was riddled with at least three bullet holes. Washam said authorities believe the Hyattes got into a gold-colored Chevrolet Venture mini-van that had been parked overnight at the restaurant. Law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Department of Correction, the TBI and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, were searching for the Hyattes, Sluss said. Roane County schools in Kingston were locked down for safety immediately after the shooting, according to Scott Stout, a Roane County spokesman and operations officers for Emergency Management Agency of Roane County. Stout said authorities would review videotapes from surveillance cameras pointed at the courthouse parking lot. Internal affairs investigators from the Department of Correction were dispatched to Kingston, and agencies from across the region sent officers to the scene. |
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