Trial Begins for Man Accused of Shooting Friendship Police Chief
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ALAMO, Tenn. – The trial against Craig Barbee, the man accused of intentionally shooting Police Chief Bill Garrett began in Crockett County, Tuesday. Investigators said Garrett was off duty at the Dollar General store when he realized Barbee was attempting to rob the store. “[This trial] means quite a bit. We’ve got a small peaceful town, most of the time. And this, this was just so bad,” Assistant Police Chief Len Crawford said. Barbee faces attempted first degree murder charges, along with numerous other charges stemming from the robbery. Garrett testified he ushered his wife to the back of the store to hide and attempted to radio for help before getting into a scuffle with Barbee. Employees at the Dollar General store testified that Barbee held a gun to their head and forced them to give him money and their cell phones. “It takes your sense of security away from you especially in this small town,” Crawford said. Garrett told jurors he believed the night of the robbery he and his wife would be murdered. The defense does not deny Barbee was in the store, or even that he took the money, but said the shooting was accidental and was the result of a fight between the chief and the defendant. Assistant Chief Crawford disagrees. “To have your chief shot, well basically try to be murdered, it’s something you don’t hear of in a small town,” he said. Those in the courtroom for the first day of testimony listened to graphic details of the shooting. Chief Garrett said he is still dealing with the complications from the wounds more than a year later. “It brings it home no doubt about that what they went through. As the trial gets underway you’ll see how violent it really was, and it was extremely violent,” Crawford said. The trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday. Stay with WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News and www.wbbjtv.com for the latest on the trial.
