Tallulah – The wife of a Graham County sheriff’s captain has been placed on paid administrative leave while state officials investigate a fatal shooting that happened Sunday evening.
Graham County sheriff’s Deputy Courtney Wooten shot and killed a man following a high-speed chase that ended on Anderson Creek Road, according to officials. Courtney is the wife of Capt. J.J. Wooten, head of the investigations division.
Around 5:30 p.m. June 20, deputies conducted a traffic stop on a 2005 Nissan Altima registered in Tennessee, which then led to a multi-vehicle, high-speed pursuit. It’s unclear how long the chase lasted.
Officials say the suspect brandished a weapon, prompting Courtney Wooten to fire her service pistol.
The suspect’s weapon turned out to be a BB gun.
“It didn’t look like a BB gun,” Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp said. ”There was nothing about it that looked like a toy. Everybody that looked at it thought it was real until they touched it.”
The deceased man’s name has not been released as of press time, pending notification of kin.
“As soon as all the lawyers tell me I can give a full public statement as to what happened, I’ll tell you everything,” Crisp said.