Knox County Man Arrested After Reportedly Assaulting Someone Then Barricading Himself Inside Home

Knox County Sheriff Mike Smith reports a man is facing a host of charges after he reportedly assaulted someone then barricaded himself inside a home. Deputies responded to a fight in progress at a home on Salt Gum Hollow Road in Salt Gum. Deputies found a man lying in the road who had reportedly been assaulted by 56-year-old Jerry Mills, with a gun stock. The victim suffered severe head wounds and was flown to the University of Tennessee Hospital. Deputies later discovered Mills had barricaded himself inside the home. After several failed attempts to negotiate with Mills to get him out of the home, the London Laurel County Special Response Team and Barbourville Police Department responded to the scene. Police tried to remove Mills from the home by using tear gas and non-lethal projectiles but those did not work. Officers eventually went in and had to physically subdued Mills to get him into custody. He was charged with assault, wanton endangerment, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and menacing. Mills was lodged in the Knox County Detention Center.