A manhunt for the suspect in the shooting of two Blount County sheriff’s deputies stretched into a fifth day on Feb. 12 with no arrest despite a reward that has ballooned to $100,000 and the arrest of several people connected to the Alcoa man.
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Just before 8:30 p.m. Feb. 8, Blount County Sheriff’s deputies Greg McCowan and Shelby Eggers initiated a traffic stop on an SUV in the 4900 block of Sevierville Road in Maryville, a release from TBI said. The driver, identified as Kenneth Wayne DeHart, 42, would not cooperate and refused to get out of the vehicle. A Taser was deployed with no effect, the release said.
At some point during the encounter, DeHart produced a gun and fired shots, striking both deputies. McCowan was fatally wounded; Eggers was shot in the leg and returned fire, Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong said in an early-morning press conference Feb. 9.
McCowan was transported to an area hospital, where he later died. Eggers also was taken to the hospital, treated and released. DeHart drove away from the scene, the release said.