Wlaf1450LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Last Thursday afternoon, LaFollette Police Officer Mallory Campbell responded to a call about a two people trying to light a tow truck on fire and waiving a chainsaw around. When Campbell arrived, she saw Eric James Brandenburg and Christopher Dean Wilhoit standing outside a two door Ford truck screaming at the individuals inside a tow truck.
Campbell separated the individuals and spoke with the driver of the tow truck and a passenger in the tow truck first, who had a video of the entire incident on her phone. It was believed the couple was attempting to repossess the truck.
The pair said when they hooked the truck up to the tow truck, Brandenburg placed the truck in drive, in the air, allegedly in an attempt to get away from the tow truck. According to a report from the LaFollette Police Department, Brandenburg did this for so long there was a large amount of rubber on the ground and on the tow truck. When Brandenburg realized this wasn’t going to work, he jumped out of the truck and into the bed, grabbed a chain saw, waived it around screaming, carried it to the back of the truck and acted like he was going to take the chain saw to the tow truck.
Wilhoit then came out of AutoZone and began yelling at the tow truck driver and his passenger that he did not care to go back to prison, and would light their truck on fire, according to the report. Wilhoit and Brandenburg then walked to the back of the tow truck and started to mess with the hooking mechanism, lighter in hand.
Campbell spoke with Brandenburg and Wilhoit who reported they did not do anything they were accused of, they were just trying to get their belongings out of the truck.
Wilhoit, 47, 1512 Loop Rd, LaFollette was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
Brandenburg, 48, 1512 Loop Rd, LaFollette was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and driving on revoked.
Wilhoit and Brandenburg were released on bail Wednesday night and are scheduled to appear in court on April 11, based on information from the Campbell County Jail. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/30/2023-6AM)