Maryville man pleads not guilty in connection with death of Walland man during arraignment
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
The Maryville man indicted by a Blount County grand jury in connection with the death of a Walland man in February 2012 pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday morning in Blount County Circuit Court.
With his attorney Jim Snyder by his side, Clinton Garrett Walton made the plea in front of Judge David Duggan and Blount County Assistant District Attorney Betsy Smith, substituting for Assistant District Attorney Shari Tayloe. There were several people present in the courtroom who made light groans when Walton made his plea, which Duggan ignored.
The date to determine when to schedule a trial has been set for Feb. 11 before Judge Tammy Harrington.
Walton, 31, Enterprise Way, was indicted in the Feb. 10, 2012, homicide of 37-year-old Brian David Fann, of Blair Loop Road in Walland.
Walton is also charged with especially aggravated robbery, theft greater than $500 and two counts of theft greater than $1,000 in connection with the incident.
Officers responded to Fann’s home after dispatchers received a report of an injured person at 1:24 p.m. Feb. 10. Fann was found dead in the home. Officers responded to the call of the homicide, and Fann’s body was discovered with a gunshot wound to the head, propped up in a seated position in the master bedroom.
Officers went to Walton’s parents’ home to look for him, but he was not there. On Feb. 11, 2012, they were called by Canadian border patrol agents through the National Crime Information Center, reporting they had found a vehicle belonging to Walton’s parents as he tried to cross the border into Canada from Detroit.
Walton was taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Detroit that morning, and was held in the Wayne County (Mich.) Detention Facility until his extradition back to Blount County on Feb. 18, 2012. He remains in the Blount County Detention Facility in lieu of $1.1 million bond.
