A Blount County Circuit Court judge has set important court dates in the case of Kenneth Wayne DeHart Jr., the Alcoa man charged with the death of Blount County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg McCowan. Legal teams on both sides of the issue won’t meet to pick a date for a trial until Dec. 13.
A hearing to determine whether prosecutors will seek punishments such as the death penalty or life without parole is scheduled for Oct. 11.
DeHart did not enter a plea.
Blount County Circuit Court Judge Tammy Harrington oversaw DeHart’s case in a hearing that lasted less than seven minutes Friday morning, April 5, setting deadlines and dates for future hearings in a case that has commanded the community’s attention for weeks. DeHart, dressed in the uniform of a Blount County Correctional Facility inmate, remained quiet for most of the hearing.
The 42-year-old Alcoa man was arrested in February after investigators in a five-day manhunt identified him as the primary suspect in McCowan’s death. The 43-year-old deputy had been assisting fellow Deputy Shelby Eggers at a traffic stop when the driver of a silver Lexus opened fire, striking both of them. Eggers was wounded in the leg and returned fire, and McCowan was declared dead at Blount Memorial Hospital later that night.
Evidence against him includes body and dash-camera video of the incident, which shows a man identified as DeHart refusing to exit his vehicle before deputies use a taser on him. He then appears to fire shots from a dark handgun, opening his door to shoot McCowan a second time before driving away.
A Blount County grand jury returned a 21-count indictment on DeHart on Monday, charging him with the likes of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault against a first responder.
Friday was his first appearance in circuit court on that indictment. Judge Harrington read the charges against him, warning the gallery that any outbursts could result in contempt charges.
In a previous hearing, an audience member told DeHart she loved him.
Although DeHart has previously expressed a desire to hire counsel, Harrington approved his request for the Blount County Public Defender’s Office to represent him in circuit court. She required all lawyers unrelated to the case to remain seated during the hearing.
Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond told the court his office is still in the process of its investigation against DeHart and is waiting on lab results from TBI. He has requested the bureau’s lab expedite tests related to the case, but that will still take time.
“There’s a lot of testing still going on,” said Desmond.
His office has already begun sharing evidence with the public defender’s office, he said.
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