SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – A Jonesborough man has been arrested after he allegedly entered a home in Blountville and fired a pistol before demanding valuables from the people inside.
A release from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) states that on Monday evening, deputies were called to a home on Austin Powder Road. The victims told deputies after they arrived that a man, later identified as Eddie Lee Arnold, 60, had allegedly entered the home through an unlocked door.
Once inside, the release states Arnold “fired a pistol into the floor and demanded money, firearms, cell phones, and car keys.” The victims reportedly refused to give Arnold anything.
According to the SCSO, Arnold then used a device similar to a stun gun on one person then left the home with a vehicle that belonged to a victim.
The SCSO reports that a short while later, Arnold took another vehicle from a victim at gunpoint while at a boat ramp on Beulah Church Road. That vehicle was later found by police at a different boat ramp on Minga Road.
Investigators stated that shortly after the second alleged robbery, a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officer saw someone matching Arnold’s description run out of a wooded area on Hamilton Road. The suspect then ran back into the woods after spotting the TWRA officer, the release states.
Police reportedly established a perimeter in the area and used an SCSO K9 unit to track Arnold in the woods. Arnold was found after “an extensive search and arrested.”
The release states Arnold was charged with the following:
- 2 counts of aggravated robbery
- 3 counts of aggravated assault
- Aggravated burglary
- Resisting arrest
- Evading arrest
Arnold was arraigned in court Tuesday morning, and his bond was set at $10,000. He is due in court next on May 16. As of Tuesday afternoon, the SCSO stated he remained in the Sullivan County Jail.
