A Christmas Eve dispute on Rockwood Mountain ended in gunfire, and now a Fort Bragg soldier is accused of killing his uncle in the holiday chaos near Rockwood, according to local authorities. The late-December shooting left 48-year-old Tommy Cooper dead, another person wounded, and the case quietly advanced this winter after the suspect was arrested out of state.
The man at the center of the case is Spc. Jacob Ryan Stinnett, 24, originally from Powell, Tenn., as identified by the Fayetteville Observer. Court records show Stinnett was booked into the Cumberland County jail on Feb. 23, then waived extradition on Feb. 25, clearing the way for his transfer to Roane County on a warrant charging him with second-degree murder in the Dec. 24 shooting.
Military Confirms Involvement
The 82nd Airborne Division has confirmed that Stinnett serves in its ranks and says both military and civilian investigators are now involved. “We are working with local authorities and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division,” the division stated, according to the Fayetteville Observer. The Army has not publicly discussed details of the alleged dispute or the soldier’s service record, but the statement signals that the case is firmly on the military’s radar.
Where Investigators Say It Happened
Roane County deputies were called just after 9:50 p.m. on Dec. 24 to reports of gunfire off Firetower Road on Rockwood Mountain. When they arrived, they found 48-year-old Tommy Cooper fatally wounded, while another person was taken to the hospital with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been assisting the Roane County Sheriff’s Office as detectives continue to interview witnesses and gather evidence, according to WVLT…