Man shot dead

A routine traffic stop turned deadly in the early morning hours of April 29th when at approximately 2:30 a.m. a blue Cadillac driven by Jamie Lee Russell, age 20, of Nebo, NC was stopped for speeding at the intersection of West Mill Creek Rd. and the Parkway (U.S. 411) in Pigeon Forge by Pigeon Forge Police Officers. During the stop a white male in his late 20’s riding in the front passenger seat, grabbed a .357 revolver and started to get out and was shot and killed by one of the officers. The body has been sent to UT Hospital for an autopsy. The victim is believed to be Butch Cassidy, of Marion County, NC. According to Lieutenant Darryl Ishikura from the McDowell County Sheriff office in Marion NC, “That was the name on the drivers license or ID card taken from victim.” Russell has been charged with Possession of Marijuana and is being held pending an arraignment before a Magistrate at which time bond will be set. The names of the two officers are being withheld pending completion of the investigation. Both have been placed on administrative leave. Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin stated, “To my knowledge this (a shooting resulting in a death) has never happened before in Pigeon Forge. Anyone in law enforcement hopes it never happens but you know it’s a possibility.” In a possibly related story, shots were fired after two masked gunmen walked into a market in Burke County, NC and robbed the store on Monday, April 28th. Those two men escaped the scene. Burke County is approximately 20 miles east of Marion, NC. “We have nothing substantial to show that these people were connected but we are looking into it,” stated Ishikura. In that robbery the men escaped in a red Pontiac.