Police Didn’t Just Find Johnny Michael Queen — He Forced Their Hand in a Deadly End to a Violent Night The manhunt for **Johnny Michael Queen**, 41, ended not with a surrender but with a final act of defiance that left law enforcement with no option but to use lethal force. The confrontation followed a harrowing chain of events that began on November 17, 2025, when Queen fatally shot **Michael Huckabee**, 47, during an argument inside a residence on Dandy Road in Signal Mountain. What started as a verbal dispute escalated into gunfire, leaving
Huckabee dead and Queen fleeing on foot into rugged, heavily wooded terrain.For more than two hours, officers from multiple agencies—including Sequatchie County deputies, Marion County authorities, and Tennessee Highway Patrol—searched the steep hills and dense brush that stretch between the counties. Tracking dogs and aerial support helped narrow the search area as Queen moved
deeper into the wilderness, reportedly carrying the same weapon used to kill Huckabee.The manhunt culminated near Big Fork Road in Marion County, where officers finally sighted Queen emerging from the treeline. According to investigators, deputies attempted repeatedly to de-escalate the encounter, issuing loud verbal commands for Queen to drop his firearm and surrender peacefully.
Witnesses described the tension as palpable, with officers maintaining distance while trying to avert further bloodshed.But Queen refused. In the final seconds of the encounter, he raised his weapon toward deputies—a decision that instantly transformed the standoff into a life-or-death moment. Officers fired, striking Queen. Despite immediate medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has now taken over the case, reviewing body camera footage, collecting ballistic evidence, and interviewing responding officers.The violent confrontation closed a tragic chapter that claimed two lives in a matter of hours, leaving families grieving and a community stunned by the sudden eruption of deadly conflict in an otherwise quiet region.
