The State Supreme Court denied a request for an extraordinary appeal from the two men accused of shooting a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer.
Timothy Davis filed an appeal application August 27. Braze Rucker filed an almost identical application September 2. The two said the court system had erred in allowing the state to seek enhanced punishment. A conviction on the crime of attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer carries enhanced punishment by state law.
“The Defendants have simply failed to carry their burden in this instance,” The Supreme Court Justices wrote. “The trial court did not so far depart from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings as to require immediate appellate review.”
Davis and Rucker stopped by a trooper in July, 2024 around Exit 286 of Interstate 40. Davis driving a white Kia. As the trooper approached, investigators said Davis fired, critically wounding the officer. The two men fled the scene, leading to a search. The two men found four days later.
Trooper Adam Cothron seriously injured in the shooting.
