Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott
A Coffee County Jury returned guilty verdicts against William Eugene Moon for Attempted 2nd Degree Murder (Class B Felony) and Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony (Class C Felony) on Thursday following a three-day jury trial and approximately 6 hours of deliberation. Moon was originally charged with Attempted 1st Degree Murder and other charges. Northcott audio:
Moon’s sentencing hearing is set for March 20, 2019 at 1 p.m. District Attorney Craig Northcott represented the State of Tennessee in the matter and Drew Justice of Murfreesboro represented the defendant.
Pursuant to the current Tennessee sentencing guidelines, Moon is facing 8-12 years in prison for Attempted 2nd Degree Murder with parole eligibility after service of 30% of the sentence. He will be sentenced to 6 years in prison with no possibility of parole for the Employing a Firearm conviction. These sentences are required to run consecutively to each other for a total range of punishment from 14 to 18 years in prison.
William Moon… Photo provided by the CCSD.
These convictions stem from Moon’s attempt to kill Cpl. Michael Wilder as Cpl. Wilder was serving a separate Aggravated Assault warrant on Moon at a residence located on East Moore Street in Tullahoma on December 17, 2017. In his attempt to avoid being arrested Northcott said Moon drew a fully loaded 9mm handgun from the waistband of his pants and pointed the weapon from point blank range at Tullahoma Police Cpl. Wilder. Cpl. Wilder, through his training and experience as well and as Northcott said, the grace of God, was able to stop Moon from firing his weapon at him and was forced to shoot Moon in order to prevent Moon from killing him. Cpl. Wilder then took medical action that, with the help of Coffee County EMS and other first responders, saved Moon from his injuries. Cpl. Wilder was employed with the Tullahoma Police Department at the time of the incident and is now a member of the Manchester Police Department.
Northcott thank the jury for their service in bringing justice in this case. He also thanked the Tullahoma PD, Manchester PD and Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and specifically Cpl. Wilder for their assistance in preparing this case as well as their daily service to this community. Further, Northcott thanked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for their thorough and professional investigation. Nothcott added, “Most of all, I want to remind everyone to pray for all of our police officers who daily put their lives at risk to protect us from many evils in our community that, because of their work, often are unknown to most of us.”
