Second murder suspect arrested
Apr 13, 2018The house had been under surveillance since Monday when law enforcement officials executed a search warrant and confiscated 3.1 ounces of suspected crystal meth and a .40-caliber handgun, according to Morristown Police Chief Roger Overholt, who characterized Ratliff’s family member as “uncooperative.”The homicide victim, 25-year-old Antonio Dewayne Yarbrough, was shot three times with a .40-caliber handgun in the upper thigh Friday night at a Morristown Housing Authority apartment on Tulip Street. He died Saturday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.Overholt, who thanked the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department for its invaluable assistance, says the handgun found at the Cedar Creek Road residence will be tested to determine if it’s the murder weapon.“We put together a successful operation to arrest a very dangerous person,” Overholt said this morning. “I want to thank officers and agents from both agencies for their tireless efforts as they worked around-the-clock for almost four days to apprehend this dangerous person.”Ratliff and Nicholas M. Roberts, a 29-year-old man who was arrested early Saturday morning, are charged with second-degree murder, and are being held without bond in the Hamblen County Jail. Their preliminary hearings had not been scheduled by press time.Ratliff, who has short-cropped hair, was wearing a brown wig when he was arrested. Overholt says others could be charged in connection with the homicide. Overholt says he believes people who had contact with Ratliff after the shooting lied to investigators to help the fugitive avoid arrest.What Ratliff, Roberts, Yarbrough and their circle of friends had in common was crystal meth and other illegal drugs, according to Overholt. The defendants were involved in a drug-related dispute with Yarbrough before the homicide victim was shot and beaten, according to MPD Detective Lt. Vicki Arnold, the lead investigator in the case.Both Ratliff and Roberts are convicted felons, according to court records. MPD Cpl. Kennet... (Citizentribune)
