The Cocke County grand jury, as part of a 14-count indictment, indicted Mack Maskford Hearron III on June 17 for vehicular homicide in the death of Edward Huck of Georgia.
Hearron III, per a Tennessee Highway Patrol report, was operating a 2013 Ford F-150 when it crossed the median on Highway 25-70 near Clevenger Cut Off Road in Newport on April 6, 2024, striking 55-year-old Thomas Huck of Georgia, who was operating a 2017 Kawasaki KL650 motorcycle. Huck died.
Per the THP report, Huck came to rest at the side of the highway and Hearron III fled the scene but was located later in the morning.
In addition to vehicular homicide, which is punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment with a fine of up to $25,000 in Tennessee, Hearron III was indicted on multiple other charges arising out of the fatal crash.
DUIDuty to render aid and give informationLeaving scene of accident / personal injury or deathDriving on roadways laned for trafficFailure to exercise due careOpen containerStopping, standing, parking in roadwayDriving against trafficDriving without licenseLeaving scene of accident — property damageSimple possession of marijuanaPossession of drug paraphernaliaFalse reports to officer
Shortly after his death, Huck’s friends and family placed a roadside memorial on Highway 25/70 at the scene of the crash and it currently remains in place.
Hearron III is scheduled to be formally arraigned in Cocke County Criminal Court on July 29.
The Cocke County grand jury also issued indictments related to several other cases that have been in the news.
Cameron indicted for murder in father’s death
Garrett Cameron was the subject of a multiple-count indictment, including first degree murder, handed down by the Cocke County grand jury.
On Sept. 6, 2023, 33-year-old Garrett Dustin Cameron was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the early morning shooting death of his father, Gary Cameron. The Cocke County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call to 366 Rankin Hill Road in Newport involving a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, Gary Cameron, deceased lying on the living room floor from an apparent gunshot wound.
Witnesses told investigators Garrett Cameron was yelling at his father, Gary Cameron, at the front door while holding a firearm and demanding keys to a vehicle. Witnesses stated Gary Cameron was asking Garrett Cameron what was going on, when he was fatally shot.
Cameron then briefly fled in the vehicle before being apprehended.
In addition to first degree murder, Cameron was indicted on charges of:
Especially aggravated robberyAggravated robberyAggravated assault (two counts)Theft of property over $1,000Reckless endangerment — deadly weapon involvedPossession of firearm with intent to go armed — dangerous felonyPossession of drug paraphernalia
The grand jury also indicted Cameron on charges related to two previous incidents unrelated to the Sept. 6 incident. Cameron was indicted on two counts of assault on a first responder arising from a May 1, 2023.
Cameron was hit with three indictments from an April 26, 2023 arrest for resisting, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
He is scheduled to be arraigned July 29 in Cocke County Circuit Court.
Daughter, two others indicted in woman’s death
The Cocke County grand jury indicted two people for the April 4, 2024 death of 68-year-old Ola Schumacher and a third person as an accessory after the fact and for tampering with evidence.
First-degree murder indictments were handed down against Schumacher’s daughter, Polly Lucille Fox, 36, and Rayanna Keene, 35. They were each indicted also on charges of tampering with evidence.
Cocke County 911 Dispatch received a call at 7:59 p.m. on April 2, 2024, from Polly Fox, 36, saying she found her mother deceased in her home at 599 Battle Road in Newport. Deputies responded and found Schumacher, 68, lying on the floor, deceased.
During their preliminary investigation, deputies observed that Schumacher had what appeared to be a deep cut to her throat.
Detectives with CCSO’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) arrived and subsequently Fox and Keene were each charged with first degree murder and tampering with evidence.
A third person, Billy Eugene Henry. was also indicted by the Cocke County grand jury June 17 on charges of being an accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence.
According to the indictment, Henry allegedly “cleaned the hands of Rayanna Keene and told her to get rid of the knife, with the intent to impair its availability as evidence in the investigation ... “
Count two of the Henry indictment states Henry hindered “the arrest, trial, conviction or punishment of the offender (named in the indictment as Fox and Keene).
All parties are due to be arraigned in Cocke County Criminal Court on July 29.
Indictments handed down related to female jail overdoses
Two women were indicted by the Cocke County grand jury on charges related to a mass overdose incident that occurred at the Cocke County Jail Annex on March 29, 2023.
Amanda Pope, 30, and Ella Ellison, 51, were indicted on two counts each of introducing contraband — intoxicant/drugs in penal facility.
Five female inmates at the Cocke County Jail Annex were found lying unconscious at the detention center and had to be revived through the use of Narcan.
At the time Cocke County Sheriff C.J. Ball called it the single largest overdose event at the jail since he became sheriff and quite possibly in his 22 years with the sheriff’s office.
Ball said at the time it was believed Ellison “took a little bathroom break when she was in her cell and apparently pulled out the (drug from her person) and handed it to another inmate.”
Having originally been charged with six counts, including possession of schedule I narcotics, possession of schedule II narcotics, possession of schedule IV narcotics, unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver Ellison was charged with an additional felony of introduction of contraband.
Pope was charged at the time with criminal conspiracy related to receiving the contraband. She had previously been arrested for theft of property and probation violation out of Claiborne County, North Carolina, and transferred to Cocke County Jail on March 23.
The incident was responded to by several agencies, including nurses in the facility, correction officers, Newport Fire Department, Newport Police Department, Cocke County Sheriff’s Office, Priority Ambulance and outside county ambulance services.
The inmates were quickly revived but three were transported to the hospital as a precautionary matter.
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