Man Shot Last Week, Arrest Made

A Lafayette man is recovering at home this week, after he was shot in the neck last Thursday afternoon, at the intersection of Ellington Drive and Church Street, near Hometown Foods.

LPD Chief Stacy Gann said that a 911 call came in at approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 14^th stating that a male individual had been shot in the throat at the intersection. “Upon arriving at the scene,” said the Chief, “we found that 41-year-old Tommy Hillard had been shot. I contacted Assistant District Attorney Justin Harris and advised him off the situation, and requested assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.”

Air Evac declined to fly due to weather, but members boarded the Macon County ambulance heading to Vanderbilt Medical Center, to help administer to the wounded man. He was released the next day.

The scene was roped off while law enforcement officers waited for the TBI to arrive along with District Attorney General Tommy Thompson. The officers remained at the scene until 1:00 a.m. Friday morning.

According to Chief Gann, the LPD continued to investigate several leads on Friday and that afternoon they were able to obtain information that could possibly lead to a suspect.

“We immediately notified the TBI of this new information and they arrived back in town sometime time around 6:00 p.m. Along with LPD Lt. Jason Roberts, they continued the investigation until 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning that led to the arrest of Tobey Wettig, at 557 Church Street around 2:30 p.m. that afternoon by the TBI.

According to the bureau, around 5:30 p.m. on March 14, Wettig was driving home when an unknown motorist began driving close to him, which angered Wettig. After the suspect turned into his driveway the other motorist continued toward the intersection of Church Street and Ellington Drive. Wettig parked his vehicle at the edge of his driveway, pulled out his handgun and fired in the direction of the other motorist, hitting 41-year-old Tommy Hillard, of Due West Circle, in Lafayette.

“I would like to thank the Macon County Sheriffs Office, THP, District Attorney Tommy Thompson, and the TBI on their quick response and hard work on this case. All the departments worked well together, resulting in an arrest.”

Macon County Schools were closed on Friday, for precautionary measures.

The TBI charged Tobey Wettig with one count of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment. Four other reckless endangerment charges were filed against four individuals who were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred.

Wettig was booked into the Macon County Jail without bond. A court date has been scheduled for May 8.