Wanted fugitive surrenders after hours-long standoff in Decatur County

Bruce Anthony Rosson surrendered after an hours-long standoff in Parsons that began when deputies tried to serve a warrant for elderly aggravated domestic assault in the 800 block of Georgia Avenue South.

Parsons Police asked the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office for help on Saturday, April 18, 2026, and officers made contact with Rosson at the property. Authorities said he then barricaded himself inside a shed, claimed he was armed and threatened to shoot anyone who tried to go inside.

Deputies quickly set a perimeter around the scene, but negotiations dragged on for hours without a resolution. As the standoff continued, the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson Police Department SWAT team and the 24th Judicial District Attorney’s Office were brought in to help.

When SWAT arrived, officers established a command center and took part in unified command with Parsons Police Chief Wes Woodward and Decatur County Sheriff Dale King. After additional tactics were used to bring the situation to an end, Rosson came out of the shed and was taken into custody.

He was transported to the Decatur County Jail with no reported injuries. No injuries were mentioned in the initial reports from the scene, and the sheriff’s office later thanked the agencies involved for helping resolve the standoff safely.

The arrest brought a tense day to a close in Parsons, Decatur County’s largest town, in a county of 11,435 people that also includes the county seat of Decaturville. The warrant involved a serious domestic-violence allegation under Tennessee law, which is part of why the response drew in multiple local and regional agencies so quickly.