Man accused of pulling a gun on firefighters faces jury

TRENTON, Tenn. — Jerry Yarbrough faced a jury Wednesday, nearly three years after he was accused of pulling a gun on two Gibson County firefighters.

One of those was Tyson Fire Chief Harry Casagrande. He was one of the first on the scene of a crash in March 2017 on Baseline Road in Kenton.

“I was waiting on the sheriff’s department. I had other firefighters en route,” Casagrande said.

Casagrande testified on Wednesday that he first checked on the driver of the second vehicle and a witness to the crash pointed out a bag on the ground.

“It was a small rolled up bag of a green substance. It looked pretty well like it was marijuana,” Casagrande said.

Casagrande approached the bag. He said that is when Yarbrough got out of his car and hit him with a pistol.

“I stood up, and at that time, I was looking down the barrel of a gun,” Casagrande said.

A second firefighter, Ryan Shanklin, arrived and Yarbrough allegedly aimed the gun at him.

“My hands went up and that’s when I started telling him to put the gun down. Then I explained to him I’m also law enforcement,” Shanklin said.

Shanklin testified that Yarbrough was eventually talked into putting the gun down.

Yarborough’s attorneys claim that he was unsure who was grabbing the bag and if someone was tampering with evidence related to the crash.

Attorneys are expected to present witnesses for the defense this afternoon.