Woman found dead in car had been shot
A 20-year-old woman found dead inside a car connected to an officer-involved shooting last weekend had been shot, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Shelby Comer’s body was found in a car driven by 32-year-old Jacky Wayne Bean that Grundy County, Tenn., authorities encountered on B Mine Road south of Coalmont on Saturday. The woman’s body was found after deputies fired on the allegedly armed Bean, who then sped away, hit a patrol car and later crashed and ran away.
On Thursday, Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum confirmed the finding of a gunshot wound but there was still a question as to where the shot came from — the deputy or the allegedly armed suspect.
The sheriff also said investigators are trying to determine why Comer and Bean were together in the first place.
Twelfth Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor said Thursday that investigators are seeking the weapon Bean allegedly pointed at the officer, and that Comer was struck by a single bullet. Taylor said the TBI plans to use “article dogs,” trained to sniff for specific items, to search for the gun.
Meanwhile, Bean remains behind bars without bond on charges of attempted first-degree murder, evading arrest, three counts of reckless endangerment, DUI and violation of the implied consent law.
Bean survived a gunshot from the Grundy County deputy as he fled and sideswiped the deputy’s police cruiser. A party not linked to the incident owns the vehicle, authorities said. The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. CST Saturday and Bean was arrested Sunday after a ninehour manhunt.
TBI officials said preliminary information shows Bean pointed a firearm at the deputy, who then fired several times into the vehicle, which was facing the deputy’s cruiser, then sped away, sideswiping the deputy’s car. Deputies tried to pursue the vehicle but quickly lost sight of it.
About 20 minutes later, a passerby spotted the suspect vehicle crashed off of the side of B Mine Road, the TBI said. Authorities said Bean approached the passerby and said he’d been shot, needed help and asked for the motorist’s vehicle, but the passerby left and called law enforcement instead.
When officers arrived, however, Bean had already fled and that’s when Comer’s body was found inside the car.
Officials said Bean faces a bond hearing on Jan. 4, in Grundy County General Sessions Court.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@ timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/ benbenton1.