Greene convicted for shooting at helicopter
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The defendant, Jerry Glenn Greene, 37, stands convicted on charges of endangering a civil aircraft and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He will be sentenced this summer at which time he will face seven to 22 years in federal prison.
His conviction came following a trial before the U.S. District Court in Chattanooga which featured testimony from several local officers including chief deputy Danice Taylor and helicopter pilot Lt. Col. John Black, both of whom were in the sheriff?s helicopter when Greene aimed his .22 rifle at the aircraft. The incident happened last February as the officers were looking for meth lab dump sites and were hovering over Greene?s farm in Blues Hill.
The officers testified Greene drove under where they were hovering, aimed, and perhaps fired a gun at the chopper. The gun was later recovered after lawmen said he hid it under a trailer. Greene, during hearings in Warren County last year, denied firing the gun at officers or even aiming the gun. Instead, Greene maintained he was trying to stop a stampede of his cattle caused by the helicopter.
?What he did was a very dangerous thing,? Sheriff Jackie Matheny said of Greene?s actions. ?Whether his cows were scared or not doesn?t give him any reason to fire on an aircraft.?
The fact a local grand jury did not indict Greene on the same evidence which led to his federal conviction came as a surprise to some local officers.