A dispute over a bright work light on a Friday evening in Rossville, Tennessee, ended the life of 59-year-old Jerry Hightower of Trion, Georgia. On April 3, 2026, Hightower, a self-employed construction worker, was performing maintenance on Ridgewood Street just after 9 p.m. An argument began when a work light Hightower was using shone into a neighboring home and escalated; Hightower was fatally shot in the front yard of the residence where he was working.

When Walker County deputies arrived they found Hightower deceased. Witnesses at the scene directed authorities to a man sitting on a porch across the street. He was identified as 49-year-old James Richard Nowlin and was taken into custody without incident; he has been charged with murder and is being held at the Walker County Jail without bond as the investigation continues.

Are there neighbors or workers who saw the argument or the moments before it escalated and can share what happened?