A Dayton, Tennessee, man is being held on a $175,000 bond in a fatal shooting Tuesday on Lower Cove Loop Road that started as an altercation and escalated into gunfire, according to authorities in Rhea County.
Rhea County sheriff's deputies answered a shooting call Tuesday on the end of Lower Cove Loop Road nearest to the town of Graysville, where they found Michael Oldham deceased, according to a news release issued Wednesday by the sheriff's office. Oldham's age was not immediately released.
Dayton resident Johnathon Defore, 21, is charged with criminal homicide in Oldham's slaying, Sheriff Mike Neal said in the statement. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
Rhea County General Sessions Court officials said Defore is being represented by the Public Defender's Office after being appointed in an arraignment Thursday morning. Public Defender Jeff Harmon said Thursday that he was still "gathering information and I just received a copy of the warrant and I am reading that."
Harmon could not comment further.
Johnathon DeforeOldham suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the incident, according to the district attorney's office.
"There was an argument between the deceased and Defore and it ultimately resulted in a shooting that happened inside Defore's residence," 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor said Thursday. Taylor said Defore and Oldham lived in mobile homes that were owned by the same person and were positioned in close proximity.
Taylor said Defore was at the scene when authorities arrived and was taken into custody there.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was not called to assist because "it appeared the sheriff's department had the scene and evidence under control," Taylor said.
Oldham's body has been sent for autopsy at the University of Tennessee Forensics Center, he said.
A preliminary hearing has been set for June 16, officials said.
Taylor said if the preliminary hearing is not continued for any reason and the case is bound over, the case could go to the Rhea County grand jury in August.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.
Staff Photo by Ben Benton / 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor