Two men involved in shooting a Highway Patrol officer along I-40 in Cookeville received life sentences Friday without the possibility of parole.
Timothy Laquan Davis, Jr. and Braze Roland Rucker sentenced by Judge Gary McKenzie after a Putnam County jury found them guilty of multiple offenses in March. The sentencing hearing included testimony from witnesses called by the state and both defendants, as well as victim impact statements from Trooper Adam Cothron and his family.
“I would have been one of the most respectful Troopers they would have met but they did not even allow me to speak,” Cothron said.
Davis, the driver, shot Cothron as the trooper approached the passenger side of the vehicle during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40 near the Willow Avenue exit on July 19, 2024. Rucker, the passenger, rolled the window down before the shooting occurred. The men then sped off, leaving Cothron lying on the shoulder of the highway.
“Today, the Court imposed the maximum sentence allowed under current Tennessee law,” District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said. “This is the first case in the State where Life without parole was imposed for the crime of Attempted First Degree murder of a law enforcement officer.”
Davis was sentenced as a multiple offender and received an additional 40 consecutive years in prison for employing a firearm, theft over $10,000 and possession of a firearm by a violent felon. Rucker was sentenced as a standard offender and received an additional 22 consecutive years for facilitation of employing a firearm, theft and firearm possession.
“Violent criminals need to be held accountable for their actions; victims need their offenders to be held accountable,” Dunaway said. “The public is protected by removing violent offenders from our community.”