SHARE Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton

By J.J. Stambaugh

NEWPORT, Tenn. ? Nationally renowned moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton died today in Cocke County and authorities are investigating his death as a possible suicide, a Cocke County official confirmed tonight.

Coroner Terry Jarnagin said that an autopsy will be performed Tuesday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He said a determination as to the manner of Sutton's death hasn't been made yet and authorities aren't planning on releasing further details tonight.

Sutton, 61, of Parrottsville, was soon expected to report to federal prison to serve an 18-month sentence for illegally brewing spirits and possessing a firearm as a felon, the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed.

Sutton spent the last three decades building a reputation as one of the South's top makers of white lightning. He starred in various documentaries about the tradition and penned an autobiography, "Me and My Likker."

A raid last year on Sutton's property turned up guns, three 1,000-gallon stills, more than 800 gallons of moonshine and hundreds of gallons of sour mash and other ingredients, records show. He kept some of the illegal brew in a shed and some in a junk school bus.

Because of a July 2007 conviction on state charges triggered by a still explosion, Sutton was on probation in Cocke County when federal authorities raided his property. He also had prior convictions for moonshining and felony assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.

Sutton recently was sentenced to two concurrent 18-month terms by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer. He was also to spend three years on supervised release once he finished up the term.

Sutton's attorney, Tim Moore, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Moore filed notice last month that he planned to appeal Sutton's case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The Cocke County Sheriff's Office is investigating, officials said.

More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.