Man arrested for shooting Paul Walker 13 years ago
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A sealed indictment charging especially aggravated robbery was served Tuesday morning on Roger Dale Tackett in his cell at Warren County Jail. He was being held there at the time of his indictment on unrelated charges of theft and forgery and had spent much of the time since the shooting behind bars on assorted criminal charges.
Walker was shot on the morning of Dec. 19, 1990 as he was opening his business on Sparta Highway. A gunman reportedly slipped around the side of the building and shot Walker once in the neck, taking a strong box the victim was carrying which contained around $500. The strong box, empty of money, was found in the river at Depot Bottom later the same day.
The wound permanently paralyzed Walker who remains in a wheelchair and still operates a shop on Sparta Highway. Lawmen say they have tried to keep the victim up to date on the probe.
Tackett has been a prime suspect since early in the investigation. Tackett, along with two other suspects, James Wiggins and Charles Turner, were arrested in the weeks following the shooting. However, their charges were dismissed by prosecutors who said the sheriff’s department did not have enough evidence for a conviction, specifically saying lawmen “did not have their ducks in a row” when they arrested the three.
While the case remained quiet for over a decade, Sheriff Jackie Matheny said the case was never forgotten.
“It was really an accumulation of things and about a year ago, we had a special prosecutor appointed,” Matheny said. “We’ve been working quietly on this for years and we’ve got quite a bit of evidence.”
David Puckett of Murfreesboro is serving as special prosecutor. He is replacing District Attorney General Dale Potter because Potter represented Tackett following his arrest for the crime 12 years ago while he served as public defender and therefore must recuse himself from prosecuting the case.
Matheny said investigators have reviewed the case from its beginnings, piecing together what evidence they had and coupling it with recently obtained evidence.
“We put enough of the puzzle together to get an indictment,” Matheny said, noting despite the age of the case, he feels it is important for the victim and his family have some type of closure.
Matheny would not say if Tackett was the actual shooter or if other people were involved as lawmen suspected early in the investigation. Originally, in the early days of the investigation, lawmen reportedly tried to use Tackett to catch other co-conspirators by sending him undercover in an attempt which failed.
The sheriff also declined to comment as to whether other sealed indictments exist or if there will be charges leveled against others in the near future. The sheriff did say the investigation is not over and lawmen would still welcome any information the public may have about the crime.
If convicted, Tackett faces a minimum 15 years in jail, and given his criminal record, could face anywhere from 25 to 40 years in prison. He is being held under a $250,000 bond.