Teen suspect in Harriman shooting

Bianci Nicole Taylor, 17, is a suspect in the shooting death Monday afternoon in Harriman of Jermaine Little, 24, the brother of Leonard Little, defensive end for the St. Louis Rams and a former star at the University of Tennessee.

Taylor, described by Oak Ridge police as a frequent runaway, was being held without bond Tuesday at the Anderson County Jail.

She has not been charged in the shooting but faces two counts of aggravated assault on police officers and evading arrest.

Harriman Police Chief Jack Stockton said late Tuesday that detectives would be taking evidence in the shooting death to District Attorney General J. Scott McCluen to determine what charge should be filed.

Jermaine Little was shot once in the left side with a 9mm handgun just inside an associate's home on Garrison Street in Harriman's Walnut Hill neighborhood about 5:30 p.m., Stockton said.

Little was taken to the city's Roane Medical Center and died there Monday.

Stockton said Taylor is a friend of Little's girlfriend, who had been involved in an altercation with Little over $500 at the Garrison Street home.

Stockton said Taylor allegedly went to her car, retrieved a handgun and shot Little. There were between four and six witnesses inside the house at the time, Stockton said.

Stockton said the suspected murder weapon hadn't been located.

Told to be on the lookout for the teen's car, Oak Ridge police stopped her on Spelman Avenue later Monday.

Taylor "gunned the engine'' as Officer Daniel Freytag tried to restrain her, according to an arrest warrant. Freytag said his right elbow was smashed into the car and he was spun around by the impact.

Another Oak Ridge officer, John Shay, had to run to avoid being hit by the teen's car, warrants state.

Taylor dove from the moving car and ran to her nearby South Benedict Avenue apartment, where she was later discovered hiding in a refrigerator in the kitchen, according to the warrants.

Jermaine Little was a standout football player at Harriman High School.

Leonard Little played at UT 1995-97 and was selected in the third round by the Rams in the 1998 NFL draft.

He apparently was not told about the shooting until after the Rams had played their Monday night game in Indianapolis against the Colts, authorities told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Bob Fowler, News Sentinel Anderson County editor, may be reached at 865-481-3625.