LCSO Lenoir City shooting suspec

LCSO: Lenoir City shooting suspect in custody after weekend-long search

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office has taken an “armed and dangerous” suspect into custody with help from the U.S. Marshals Service.

James Burch was taken into custody in Powell and taken to the Loudon County Detention Center. He has been charged with Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Domestic Assault and Violation of Bond Conditions. The Sheriff’s Office added that there are additional charges pending.

Initially, LCSO announced they were searching for a suspect, identified as James Burch, in relation to a shooting that happened early Friday morning. A spokesperson for LCSO said on Saturday that the sheriff’s office was working with the U.S. Marshals Service to track down more leads on Burch’s whereabouts.

Friday afternoon, Loudon County Sheriff Jimmy Davis shared additional information about the shooting, saying they received a call from Fort Sanders Regional Hospital in Knoxville that a woman had come to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

After speaking with the victim, deputies learned that the shooting happened in the area of Martell Road. Davis explained that the victim told investigators that she was shot once in each leg by Burch, her husband, sometime before midnight. Burch allegedly came back a few hours later, noticed that she still seemed to be alive, and shot her in the face before he left the residence, Davis said.

According to Davis, the victim gathered herself and was able to drive herself to the hospital. Because of the severity of her injuries, she was then taken to UT Medical Center’s Level 1 Trauma Unit and is reportedly in stable condition.

Davis shared that Burch was arrested in August on a felony aggravated domestic assault charge and was out on bail. The investigations Unit spoke with the district attorney’s office and Burch has now been charged with attempted first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic assault.

Anyone with information on Burch’s whereabouts should contact the Loudon County E-911 Center at 865-458-9081.

Just after 2:50 p.m. Friday, LCSO issued an update that the white Chevrolet van that Burch was last seen in was located in West Knoxville near Northshore Drive and Westland Drive. He is still considered armed and dangerous.

According to a release from the sheriff’s office, the shooting happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 10 in the 22000 block of Martel Road in Lenoir City.

According to LCSO’s initial release, Burch left the residence shortly after the shooting in a white work van and went to a job site in West Knoxville around 9 a.m.

A photo of the work van shared by the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office shows decals on the rear side of the van that read “Painting Unlimited Plus.”

The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office says it and other law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area are searching for Burch, who is considered armed and dangerous.