SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man has been taken into custody in connection with the death of a Robertson County Sheriff’s deputy after an hours-long standoff situation in Smyrna Monday morning.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported the suspect — later identified as 27-year-old James Jackson Conn — was wanted by law enforcement in connection to the death of 22-year-old Deputy Savanna Puckett. Conn is described as an “acquaintance” by TBI officials.
Deputy Puckett was found dead Sunday evening from a gunshot wound inside her burning home in Springfield. A deputy went to her home to check on her when she did not report for roll-call and found her home on fire.
Tactical officers with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office along with Smyrna police officers were called to Conn’s home on Odom Court off Sam Ridley Parkway.
“Very loud… sounded like a bomb going off,” said a neighbor who did not want to be identified. “It was just massive chaos. Cops running around everywhere, and he wouldn’t come outside.”
Officers had reportedly been at his home since Sunday night. Multiple “flash bangs” were heard being detonated at the home Monday morning in addition to officers issuing commands.
“They kept on the microphone saying his name. ‘Please come out with your hands up’… ‘We will not shoot you’… ‘If you shoot at us, we will shoot back’… and he never came out,” the neighbor explained.
According to a press release sent out by TBI, Conn was arrested later Monday morning “without incident.”
Conn is being charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson.
He is being held at the Robertson County Jail without bond.
Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were seen searching the home and a vehicle parked outside the residence Monday. Multiple windows appeared to have been broken throughout the home.
The Robertson County Sheriff’s Office released a statement, which reads:
Patrol Deputy Savanna Puckett is a great loss to all of us here at the Sheriff’s Office. We will grieve her death today, tomorrow, and many days to come. Savanna started her career at the Sheriff’s Office as a Corrections Officer in December of 2017 at the age of 18 and was promoted to Booking Officer in the Detention Facility in November of 2018. Savanna had aspirations of advancing her career to the Patrol Division and made that dream a reality when she was promoted to Patrol Deputy in May 2020, and officially graduated from Walter State Law Enforcement Academy in September 2020. In the 4 years that Savanna was with the Sheriff’s Office, she touched the lives of everyone. Savanna was the one who always showed up early to her shift with a smile on her face. She was hardworking and cared deeply for each and every person here. She was a mother hen to us all and frequently cooked meals and baked goodies for her shift. She was tough, courageous, kind, compassionate, and had an infectious personality that will always be remembered.
Robertson County Sheriff’s Office
