COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Cocke County investigators are looking into a deadly shooting in the Carson's Spring Community.
Sheriff Armondo Fontes says a 911 call came in around 2:54 Friday morning about a shooting at 332 Leaf Way. When officers arrived at the home, they found Andrew Mortiner, 27, dead from a gunshot wound, and Josh Baker, 23, alive with a gunshot wound to the head. Baker lives in the home; Mortiner lives a few homes down.
Police say Mortiner and Baker were just hanging out at the house when three men came in. They believe James Michael Brewer, 26, was the driver and wasn't armed, but did go inside. Investigators say the other two suspects were armed and began shooting after a confrontation with Mortiner and Baker. Baker then called 911.
The suspects escaped in a white Ford, but after talking with Baker and others, police were able to track down Brewer and figured out that he had family with a white Ford. Officers found the car at 116 Wilderness Trail in Cosby, with a still-warm engine. Brewer's family apparently tried to tell them that it hadn't been moved in hours.
Police currently have Brewer in custody on two violation of probation charges. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and deputies are questioning two other suspects from Knox County. They believe the motive was robbery; Baker sells marijuana and pills in the area, and police believe the suspects thought he would be an easy target.
Fontes says Baker was taken to a local hospital, then flown to UT Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Even though Baker was shot in the head, Fontes says the bullet cracked his skull and didn't actually go into his head.