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By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer

A Tyler man who shot at law enforcement officers during a standoff was sentenced Monday to 50 years in prison.

After an 8-year-old child called 911 and reported that James Charles Rowe was physically abusing her mother, deputies converged on the scene and the defendant threatened to take them out with a rifle during a 3 1/2-hour standoff that defense attorneys called an attempted “suicide by cop.”

Rowe, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a public servant — shooting at Smith County sheriff deputies Kevin Fite and Bryce Hatton — and was sentenced to 50 years for each charge and a $5,000 fine. He also was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to deadly conduct.

Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent ordered that the sentences run concurrently so Rowe will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years in prison.

During closing arguments, Assistant Smith County District Attorney Richard Vance said the deputies were in court by the grace of God. He said Rowe turned his residence into a war zone, told officers they were going to die and took aim at them from inside his home.

He said the first two so-called warning shots hit a tree and a car close to where deputies were located. Rowe told officers he blacked out and didn’t remember anything about the shooting; he also said he didn’t use drugs. But he later told a mental health expert hired by his attorneys that he had used alcohol and marijuana. Vance said he deserved life in prison.

Defense attorney F.R. “Buck” Files Jr. called the case a “suicide by cop” and said if it wasn’t for the professionalism and training of the officers, they would have a dead man.

He cited a letter written to the court by Rowe’s ex-wife, which stated that Rowe was a simple man who had hit rock bottom. It talked of his alcohol problem and stated that even when drunk, “he’s a good shot” with a gun. The woman wrote she believed he wanted police to do what he couldn’t.

Files said Rowe, who has two children but is behind on paying child support, has no prior convictions. He has dyslexia and was in special education classes in school and has worked as a painter, maintenance man, cook and flooring installer. Family members wrote that he is an outstanding father and a caring man who is always concerned for others.

Dr. Edward Gripon evaluated the defendant and concluded that his substance and alcohol abuse impacted the offense and he did not consider Rowe a threat for future acts of violence, Files said.

He said they will never know whether Rowe was trying to actually shoot the officers or trying to end his own life because his client doesn’t remember.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Parrish said an 8-year-old called 911 because Rowe was beating his girlfriend, the child’s mother.

In a pre-sentence investigation, Rowe stated that he remembered going into his bedroom and getting the rifle, which fired, and his girlfriend and her child crawled out of the window. He remembered that in detail but couldn’t recall anything about shooting at the officers, Parrish said, adding that he didn’t think Rowe was truthful.

He said the defendant used a .30-30 rifle, “trying to take an officer with him” and was a pretty good shot from 50 yards away. Parrish said they were a bullet away from a capital murder case. Parrish called Rowe as an angry and violent person.

Deputies responded to the domestic disturbance call just after 3 a.m. on Nov. 17 to the Brook Hollow trailer on Rhones Quarter Road. Upon arrival, Rowe appeared at the doorway and fired two shots at sheriff’s deputies before locking himself inside. Officers from Tyler, Troup and Bullard police departments responded to help deputies secure the area as the Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team prepared for deployment and a negotiator attempted to contact Rowe and convince him to give up.

Once the SWAT team arrived, tear gas was sprayed into the trailer, but Rowe didn’t come out. At about 6:30 a.m., the SWAT team forced its way in and found Rowe unconscious and heavily intoxicated and he was taken to the hospital.

Brett Harrison represented Rowe with Files.