Catoosa Sheriff says man had a gun in the shower with him when he shot deputy

He was shot in the line of duty Easter Sunday when he and others were serving a warrant at 1198 Edgemond Road in Ringgold.  Police say this is the man who shot him: convicted felon James Adam Sherlin.

“Sherlin was in the shower. The deputies then forced the bathroom door opened, and Sherlin retreated back into the shower where he had a handgun,” said Sheriff Gary Sisk.

The Sheriff says Cantrell lunged for the gun, fighting Sherlin, and that’s when Sherlin pulled the trigger. The bullet, severing Deputy Cantrell’s left ring finger, nearly slicing the tip completely off.

“Last night, his comment was, ‘let’s put a bandaid on it and get back to work.’ but he needs to, uh, he needs to heal.”

The bullet continued hurling through the air and going into the alleged gunman’s arm.

Cantrell has been with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s office for 19 months.. while the big box office hit this week at the movies is Batman VS. Superman, to many, the real super hero fighting crime and trying to take evil off the street is Deputy Cantrell.

“It’s very unusual that someone would have a pistol stored in the shower with them. So, that, I think, was very unexpected.”

Sherlin is facing a long list of charges, including attempted murder of a police officer. Tonight, he’s locked up in the Catoosa County jail without bond.

Deputy Cantrell is expected to return to work on “light duty” in the coming days.

James Sherlin