With an arrest made in Tennessee Friday, the Walker County Sheriff’s Department and the GBI believe a twent-six-year-old murder case has finally been solved.James Richard Harris was found deceased at the entrance to his residence on Boss Road, Chickamauga, on December 22nd, 1994.  Harris had been murdered and robbed by the gate of his property as he was leaving for work.

Suspect Robert Allen Mowry, age 50, was picked up by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Friday night… and he now faces one count of malice murder in the case.    In a press conference Saturday, the GBI said the case broke with a tip received in 2009.  The GBI, Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the Chattanooga Police Department pursued additional leads which brought the case closer to a resolution; however, there was not enough evidence to make an arrest at that time.

Earlier this year, new evidence was found following surveillance and interviews conducted by the GBI, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, the TBI, the Tullahoma, Tennessee Police Department, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Nashville Police Department.  This new evidence led to a match of evidence from the original crime scene and the arrest of the suspect last week.  Information from the joint investigation will be turned over to the Lookout Mountain District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson commended Major Mike Freeman, who stayed with the case for its entire 26 year history.  Freeman had been with the Sheriff’s Office for one month when the fatal robbery was discovered.

WQCH