Lockdown drill turns real as fugitive is captured nearby

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn.— A routine traffic stop Thursday led to Rogersville City School being locked down for a short time, just moments after police had finished a lockdown drill at the school.  When a Hawkins County deputy stopped a car on Broadway Avenue, he noticed Christian Douglas Heck was a passenger in the car. The deputy recognized Heck and knew he was wanted for violation of community supervision. Heck is a convicted sex offender, convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl in 2000.

When the deputy recognized Heck, he fled from the car on foot. Officers at the school doing the lockdown drill were making their evaluations of how the drill went when they heard the call. They immediately joined the pursuit, while school officials went into actual lock down, because of the proximity of the suspect. About 10 officers with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department and Rogersville Police Departments were on the scene in moments, finding Heck trying to hide under a building at a house about a block away from RCS.

Rogersville Police Chief Doug Nelson, who was part of the lockdown drill at the school, says it was bad timing for Heck, but good timing for them. “He probably wondered why there were about 10 officers on him that quick,“ said Nelson. As of Thursday, Heck was being held without bond in the Hawkins County Jail. His charges include Violation Community Corrections and Evading Arrest.