By Police1 Staff
KINGSTON, Tenn. — A pair of brothers who shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy and his friend during a ridealong posted photos of the bodies on a sign outside their home.
Rocky Joe and Leon Houston said they “want the world to remember what happened” when uninvited guests shows up at their farm, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Deputy Bill Jones, 53, and ride-along Mike Brown, 44, died in May 2006 when they went to the Houstons’ property to serve an outstanding arrest warrant for Rocky, who had failed to appear in court. The two groups exchanged gunfire, and Jones and Brown died at the scene.
It was never determined who fired first. In court, the Houston brothers said the men “came to kill them” and were never prosecuted in the deaths.
The night of the shootout, forensic specialists took photos of the bullet-riddled corpses inside Jones’ patrol car that became evidence in the Houstons’ trial. Authorities said because they are public record, posting them is not a crime.
The photos, along with court records, names of public officials and claims of government corruption, are posted on at least a dozen billboards outside the property and next to the road, according to the article.
“It goes without saying that any public display on their own property of these photos in whatever manner by the Houstons is despicable and certainly runs counter to the Houstons’ claims of innocence,” 9th Judicial District AG Russell Johnson said Thursday in a news release.
Rocky Houston told the paper he will not take down the signs.