Nearly four months after a late-December pursuit ended in tragedy on a narrow Blount County back road, 24-year-old Dalton Michael Bowman of Lenoir City is preparing to plead guilty in the case tied to Deputy Justin Mowery’s death.
Prosecutors told WBIR on April 27 that Bowman will enter a guilty plea in Blount County court on charges that grew out of the December 28, 2025 pursuit on Miser Station Road. Investigators identified Bowman as the motorcyclist who fled from deputies shortly before Mowery’s fatal crash.
Charges and arrest
According to a news release from the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Bowman is charged with a Class A felony count of evading arrest that resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer. He also faces a Class C felony count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, along with misdemeanor counts that include simple possession of methamphetamine and driving on a suspended license.
Investigators say Bowman was taken into custody at a residence in Louisville, where they recovered a handgun and roughly six grams of methamphetamine, according to WVLT.
Crash and autopsy
An autopsy released in February concluded that Mowery died at the scene from head injuries after his patrol cruiser left the roadway on a curve along Miser Station Road. As reported by WBIR, the report noted the cruiser was traveling about 65 mph in a 35 mph zone and that Mowery was not wearing a seat belt.
We first covered Bowman’s arrest and the initial slate of charges in January. That earlier piece, Lenoir City man charged, detailed the sheriff’s call for additional witnesses and investigators’ recovery of a motorcycle reported stolen out of Loudon County. The case has drawn close attention across Blount and Loudon counties as authorities combed through video evidence and eyewitness accounts to reconstruct what happened.
Legal exposure
The Blount County Sheriff's Office says the evading arrest charge that resulted in an officer’s death is being pursued as a Class A felony. Under Tennessee law, a Class A felony carries a potential sentence of 15 to 60 years in prison, with judges setting the exact term based on the defendant’s criminal history and applicable sentencing range, per Tennessee statutes.
If the court accepts Bowman’s plea, he will be sentenced in Blount County and then must answer a separate Loudon County warrant tied to the same incident, officials said. Prosecutors have not revealed any details of a potential plea agreement and say the investigation remains active, according to WVLT.
