
At approximately 1:30pm Monday (5/24/21), a Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a Mercedes traveling at a high rate of speed in the 6000 Block of Knoxville Highway. The Mercedes was stolen out of Knoxville. After a brief physical altercation, the suspect was taken into custody. The Deputy continued with his roadside investigation while he waited on assistance from other officers. The suspect managed to escape custody and fled the scene in the deputy’s patrol vehicle leading local and state law enforcement on a 10–12-minute pursuit that went from the Coalfield community into the edge of Wartburg City and back down Knoxville Hwy where the suspect abandoned the patrol car near Big Mountain Baptist Church.
The suspect is Joshua Lance, a 25-year-old white male from Sevierville. Lance is approximately 6 feet tall and 175lbs. He has Brown hair and Blue eyes with a full beard. He was apprehended around 10:15pm last night about 1/4 mile from Big Mountain Church on Hwy 62.
Several local and state agencies assisted in locating the suspect. Sheriff Potter greatly appreciates the Anderson, Knox, and Roane County Sheriff’s Offices as well as Wartburg and Oliver Springs Police Departments, plus the THP who all provided much needed manpower and equipment.



