One of two suspects at-large in Cowan cornfield killing arrested in Florida

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

photo Coty Holmes

Franklin County, Tenn., authorities say one of the two men at-large in the March 24 slaying of 26-year-old Cowan, Tenn., resident Corey N. Matthews has been arrested by a U.S. Marshal's Office task force.

Coffee County resident Coty Keith Holmes, 25, of Hillsboro, was arrested in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and transported to the Okaloosa Sheriff's Office, Franklin County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Chris Guess said in a news release.

Holmes, charged on Franklin County grand jury indictments with first-degree murder and criminal homicide, is scheduled to appear before a Superior Court judge to determine extradition to Tennessee, Guess said.

Two other men, Todd Eugene Dalton, 39, and 26-year-old John Corey Lanier, both of Manchester, were taken into custody last week on the same charges.

Meanwhile, authorities are still searching for the fourth of four suspects in the homicide. All four men face the same charges, records show.

Still at-large is David Gordon Jenkins, 46, of Manchester, according to authorities.

Matthews' body was discovered in a cornfield across from the Jackson Cemetery on Slag Town Road on March 24 after his family reported him missing.

Jenkins is described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5-feet 10-inches tall, weighs about 185 pounds and has numerous tattoos on his arms, left shoulder, chest, back and thighs, as well as numerous scars.

Jenkins has a criminal history that dates back to 1985 and includes assault, drug trafficking, resisting arrest, possession of stolen property, robbery, escape, writing bad checks, DUI and traffic violations, authorities said.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jenkins, 46 should contact the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at 931-962-0123 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.