KNOXVILLE – An investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Commerce and Insurance has led to charges being placed against five men accused of intentionally starting a fire inside the Cocke County Jail.
At the request of 4th District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI Special Agents along with fire investigators from theDepartment of Commerce and Insurance began investigating a fire that was set inside the Cocke County Jail on August 15th.The investigation revealed that five men, all inmates at the time, were responsible for starting the fire inside a cell located in the jail annex. The fire caused minor damage and no one was injured.
On September 9th, arrest warrants were obtained for John Thomas Shehee, Lance L. McCabe, Glenn A. Mantooth and Austin Fine, all of Newport. Shehee, 28, is charged with Arson. McCabe, 42, Mantooth, 27, and Fine, 22, are charged with Criminal Responsibility for Facilitation of a Felony. All four have been arrested and booked into the Cocke County Jail. A fifth person, Joey D. Cate has also been charged with Criminal Responsibility for Facilitation of a Felony. He is currently being held in the North West Correctional Complex on unrelated charges.
