Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Lanny Allen Markland, 42, pled guilty to attempted first-degree murder, employing a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon Monday in Carter County Criminal Court. The terms of the plea agreement were that he will serve 30 years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

The Carter County Sheriff’s Office charged Markland with the attempted killing of his girlfriend on August 18, 2022, at 1461 Blue Springs Road. The victim told officers that Markland had been hateful and argumentative all day. While she was sitting on the bed, she said he pulled a small revolver out of his pants pocket and shot her in the head. He then cut her on the face and neck with a pocketknife. She said he also took her phone so that she could not call 911. She was able to get away and beat on the door of a neighbor to ask for help. Hours later, the Elizabethton Police Department located Markland and placed him under arrest.

Markland’s sentence consists of 20 years on the attempted first-degree murder charge with 10 years running consecutively for the employment of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony. There is no parole eligibility for these offenses.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys General Dennis Brooks and Darcee Kubisiak.

Markland will remain in the Carter County jail until January 23, when there will be a trial for resisting arrest.

Judge Lisa Rice was the presiding judge.