ORIGINAL STORY:

WVLT reports that a 48-year-old Morgan County man, Tommy James Cooper, was taken into custody after a domestic situation call led to the discovery of potentially explosive devices at his residence on 178 Forest Road. The incident began when bounty hunters, searching for Cooper, entered his home and found the suspicious items, prompting a response from law enforcement.

District Attorney General Russell Johnson reported that the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, alongside the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were called to the scene.

Cooper, who fled on foot to evade both the bounty hunters and responding officers, was apprehended by Sheriff’s Office Detectives Sarah Posey and Willie Dutton on a nearby side road. He is expected to face multiple charges related to the incident.

TBI PRESS RELEASE:

MORGAN COUNTY – Special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have arrested a Harriman man accused of possessing prohibited weapons.

At the request of 9^th Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson, TBI agents began investigating the discovery on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, two private fugitive recovery agents attempted to take Tommy Cooper (DOB 4/23/1977) into custody on an outstanding Roane County warrant for Failure to Appear. When the recovery agents arrived at Cooper’s home in the 100 block of Forest Hill Drive, he fled on foot. During a safety sweep of the property, the recovery agents found several weapons – including a U.S. military rocket launcher, four improvised devices, three muzzle-loaded rifles, and multiple edged weapons – and contacted 911 for law enforcement assistance. Authorities worked to secure the perimeter of the property and encountered Cooper, who briefly led law enforcement officers on a foot chase through a densely wooded area. Eventually, Cooper emerged, and authorities took him into custody.

Due to the discovery of potentially explosive materials, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Devices Unit and ATF responded and determined the rocket launcher to be inert and non-functional. The four improvised devices were determined to contain a powder substance but were classified as hoax devices. Agents subsequently arrested Cooper and charged him with four counts of Prohibited Weapon – Hoax Device and booked him into the Morgan County Jail, where, at the time of this release, he was held without bond.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.