50949_WKBW_7_Problem_Solvers_658x90.png

Actions

Suspect charged after Tennessee deputy found dead inside her burning home

thumbnail_Smyrna SWAT 2.jpg
Posted

SMYRNA, Tenn. — Authorities in Tennessee say a man was taken into custody in connection with the death of a Robertson County deputy after a more than 14-hour long standoff in Smyrna.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Monday evening 27-year-old James Conn was charged with murder and arson in the death of deputy Savanna Puckett.

Puckett was found dead inside her burning home late Sunday evening after not reporting to her assigned shift.

james-conn.jpg
James Conn

Several law enforcement agencies, led by TBI, had been outside a home on Odom Court since Sunday night.

A neighbor who lived next door described the scene as "just massive chaos, cops running around everywhere, and he wouldn't come outside, so they had to do what they had to do."

The neighbor says the suspect lived in the home with his mother and was found hiding in the attic.

"I've known him since he was a baby, so they've lived here for over 20 years. So I've watched him grow up, and it's just weird, it's just not him," said the neighbor. "He came out with cops surrounded him, so it was hard to see him, but they put him in the back of a vehicle and took him away."

Conn was booked into the Robertson County Jail, where he is being held without bond.

Caroline Sutton at WTVF first reported this story.