MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Blount County Judge Tammy Harrington heard arguments today regarding a potential change of venue for the trial of Kenneth Wayne DeHart Jr., who is facing the death penalty for the fatal shooting of one Blount County deputy and the wounding of another.
During the hearing, 5th Judicial District Attorney General Ryan Desmond clearly outlined the court’s legal avenues. Desmond explained that Judge Harrington has the option to retain the trial within Blount County, relocate the trial to an entirely different county (a change of venue), or keep the trial in Blount County while importing a jury pool selected from an outside jurisdiction (a change of venire).
The defense attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, is actively pushing to move the trial out of Blount County, specifically requesting relocation to either Shelby County or Davidson County. A central point of contention during the arguments involved race. DeHart is Black, and the deputy who was killed was white. DeHart’s defense team argued for the necessity of moving the trial to a county with a larger percentage of Black residents to ensure a fair and representative jury pool.
Following the presentation of arguments from both the prosecution and the defense, Judge Harrington stated that she would take the matter of trial location and jury selection under consideration.
DeHart is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder stemming from a traffic stop on the evening of February 8, 2024. According to body camera footage and court testimony, the incident began when Deputy Shelby Eggers pulled DeHart over. After a prolonged confrontation during which Deputy Greg McCowan deployed a Taser multiple times, DeHart allegedly fired a weapon from inside his vehicle. Deputy McCowan, 43, was killed, and Deputy Eggers was shot in the leg but survived the encounter.