TOP PHOTO: First responders with La Follette Fire and Police responded to the call of a fight and a fire on Wednesday afternoon along North Tennessee Avenue.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Emergency vehicles were all along North Tennessee Avenue near the Royal Lunch and Billiards late on Wednesday afternoon. Crowds assembled on the sidewalks on both sides of the street.

La Follette Police Officer Daniel Smith was the first officer on the scene just before 3:30pm. The call to 911 dispatch was about a fight in progress. Smith said when he arrived, he learned that the fight had ended. But he and Sgt. Noah Riggs could smell smoke near the apartments next to the Royal. The officers found some clothing on the sidewalk burning and quickly extinguished it.

Officers learned through witnesses that Paxton Long and Harlan Jacobs went inside the apartment building where the victim lives with one other person. Based on witness statements, after Long and Jacobs left the building, they could smell smoke, and that was when the victim came down the stairs and kicked the burning clothing out onto the sidewalk.

Long, 24, 506 North 13th Street, La Follette, and Jacobs, 19, 1260 Ballplay Road, Madisonville, are both charged with two counts of aggravated attempted arson. Long and Jacobs remain housed in the Campbell County Jail this morning while Long does not have a bond, and Jacobs bond is set at $50,000 secure. Long’s court date is August 23, and Jacobs is scheduled to go to court on July 28. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/22/2022-6AM)

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