On Friday, March 27, the Pickett County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a domestic altercation in progress.

While responding to the initial scene of the domestic, officers were notified that the suspect was currently involved in another domestic situation in another location.

The second caller stated that Dustin Wade Mitchell, 39, 509 Sunset Drive, Byrdstown, was irate and making threatening statements and needed an officer to respond to the residence. The caller stated that he then used his Chevrolet Tahoe to ram her vehicle, which was occupied by her and her two minor grandchildren, before fleeing from the residence.

Officers were able to make contact with the suspect at his residence at 509 Sunset Drive. At that time the suspect was inside his tractor trailer truck and refused to exit the vehicle.

Numerous officers from the Pickett County Sheriff’s Office and Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to the scene and shut down Sunset Drive to all traffic during the course of the standoff. Sheriff Dana Dowdy and other officers on the scene attempted for approximately three hours to negotiate with the suspect to end the standoff.

A final threatening statement by the suspect led Sheriff Dowdy to make the call to request a piece of heavy equipment be brought to the residence to attempt to prevent the tractor trailer from leaving the residence.

A front end loader that was acquired by the sheriff’s office through the military Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program was then brought to the residence. At that time the suspect began revving the engine of the truck and began accelerating toward the officers on scene.

Due to the previous threats and the danger to the officers on scene the front end loader was used to disable the suspect’s vehicle. The suspect then proceeded to barricade himself in the sleeper cab of the vehicle. Officers then entered the vehicle and deployed a taser to attempt to take the suspect into custody.

An unsuccessful first attempt and the suspect being combative led to a second taser deployment to finally bring the suspect into custody.

“We are very lucky that the incident ended the way it did. Everyone was able to leave from the incident without injury and no danger was brought to the public. It was the best possible outcome we could have had,” Sheriff Dowdy stated.

Mitchell was charged with one count of domestic assault, two counts of resisting arrest, two counts of aggravated child endangerment, six counts of reckless endangerment, and seven counts of aggravated assault.

Sheriff Dowdy would like to thank all the officers of the Department of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Livingston Police Department for their assistance.

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Several employees of the Pickett County Sheriff’s Office are self-quarantining in the jail of the courthouse after possibly being exposed to COVID-19 Monday evening, March 30.

According to Sheriff Dana Dowdy, after an arrest was made involving a domestic, it was learned the individual was experiencing symptoms of the virus.

“Even with our safety precautions, this is something we have never had to deal with before. We have been in contact with numerous people on what we should do. The most common sense thing is for those who were exposed to remain in the jail area until it is known for sure or not if that individual tests positive,” said Sheriff Dowdy. “Unfortunately, crime doesn’t stop and we have to continue to do our jobs even in a pandemic.”

The lower offices of the courthouse were closed on Tuesday, March 31, to make sure that everyone would be safe but opened back up Wednesday.

The results of the COVID-19 tests could take several days. In the meantime, the employees have chosen not to go home and are avoiding risking possible exposure to their loved ones.

The office is still in operation.

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A home that was built for a Monroe family to spend their life in sadly burned down on Wednesday, March 25.

A 911 call was made regarding a fire at 6192 Cherry Tree Lane, Monroe. According to witnesses at the scene, smoke was seen coming from the side of the home by someone driving by. The individual noticed a vehicle at home and made contact with one of the owners, who was inside the home, unaware.

Members of the Byrdstown-Pickett County Volunteer Fire Department responded to the home, which was already engulfed with flames on one side. Attempts were made to get the fire under control and extinguished, but they were unsuccessful. The Monroe Volunteer Fire Department later assisted.

According to homeowner Steve Melton, he and his father built the home.

As firefighters were battling the blaze, one of the firefighters found that there were supplies on the front porch and quickly rescued them minutes before the fire increased.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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A single vehicle accident occurred on Cordell Hull Memorial Drive Sunday, March 29.

According to the accident report, a 1999 Nissan Quest was traveling west on Highway 325 and partially left the roadway while negotiating a curve at the Jones Chapel Road intersection. The vehicle ended up rolling multiple times before coming to a rest on a paved driveway.

The driver, Larazo Orozco, 33, currently of Byrdstown, was ejected due to not wearing a seatbelt. Orozco fled the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended by Pickett County Sheriff’s deputies. He was flown to UT-Knoxville for treatment of injuries from the accident.

Charges are pending.

The accident is being investigated by Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Toby Beaty.