A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted two brothers who were tried twice but never convicted in the 2006 shooting deaths of a Roane County Sheriff’s Department deputy and his ride-along partner, authorities said.
AÂ 14-count indictment was returned against Rocky Houston, 52, charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms, according to the office of U.S. Attorney William C. Killian in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
A one-count indictment was also returned again Leon Houston, 54, for possessing firearms while being an unlawful user of controlled substances, a press release said.
Both Houstons are residents of Ten Mile, Tenn. If convicted, each faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The arraignment for Rocky Houston is scheduled for 3 p.m. today (Wednesday) in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. An arraignment and detention hearing for Leon Houston is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, also in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
According to WYSH Radio in Clinton, Rocky and Leon Houston were both arrested Friday on federal firearms charges at the family’s home in the Ten Mile community after agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Roane County Sheriff’s Office; and other agencies executed search and arrest warrants.
The ATF began investigating reports that Rocky Houston was in possession of guns last year and in October, installed a hidden camera on top of a utility pole near the property that captured several images of Rocky carrying weapons, WYSH said. When agents came to the house on Friday, Leon Houston rode up on a four-wheeler armed with three loaded guns, and he was arrested after admitting that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana, the radio station said.
During their first court appearances Monday, U.S. Magistrate Bruce Guyton set a Friday detention hearing for Leon Houston to decide if he will remain behind bars until his trial, WYSH said. Guyton did not set a detention hearing for Rocky Houston, who disrupted court on several occasions, and he was sent back to jail.
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