Dowelltown Man Charged by Smithville Police with Leaving the Scene of Crash and Evading Arrest

May 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Dowelltown man who allegedly fled the scene of a recent personal injury auto accident on foot before later being arrested will make a court appearance Thursday, May 16.

48-year-old Ryder Lee Miller of Mill Hill Road is charged with evading arrest and leaving the scene of an accident.

Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins said that on May 1 police were summoned to a vehicle accident with injuries on Highway 56 North and Allen’s Ferry Road. Upon arrival, the officer learned from witnesses that the driver of a vehicle involved in the crash, Miller had fled on foot into the woods behind Village Market. After a lengthy search Miller was located and arrested. His bond is $10,000 and he will make a court appearance on May 16. The Tennessee Highway Patrol was called to investigate the accident.

27-year-old Nahum Gaspar of Wade Street is charged with two counts of domestic assault, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest. Chief Collins said that on May 12 police were dispatched to the Gaspar residence due to a physical domestic in progress. Upon arrival officers found Gaspar to be irate and violent and they learned that he had assaulted his girlfriend by allegedly pulling her hair and trying to strangle her. Gaspar then allegedly assaulted his girlfriend’s parents by hitting and kicking them. According to police, Gaspar refused to cooperate, and they had to forcefully gain control over him. Bond for Gaspar is $17,000 and his court date is May 30.

27-year-old Rebecca Hope Thomas of Foster Road is cited for theft. Chief Collins said that on April 23 police were summoned to Mapco Express due to a possible theft. After an investigation and a review of video from the store, officers determined that Thomas took items from the store without paying for them. She was subsequently located and issued a citation.

34-year-old Jonathan Daryl Lawson of Big Hill Road, Liberty is cited with simple possession of a schedule VI drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to maintain lane of travel. Chief Collins said that on April 24 while patrolling, an officer spotted a vehicle swerve into the wrong lane of travel. He pulled over the automobile and detected a strong odor of marijuana. A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a small bag of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana along with a set of scales containing a white powdery substance that the driver, Lawson claimed was cocaine. Lawson’s court date is May 22.

43-year-old Christie Dawn Bouldin is charged with public intoxication. According to Chief Collins, police were called to a residence on Wade Street where a woman, Bouldin was found on the front porch. She apparently did not reside there. Bouldin was believed to be in a state of confusion and showed signs of euphoria. She was placed in custody for public intoxication and issued a no trespass order to keep away from the property. Her bond was set at $2,500 and she is to appear in court on May 16.

69-year-old Charles Edward Kirby of McMinnville is charged with driving on a revoked license. Chief Collins said that on April 28 an officer was notified of a reckless driver coming into Smithville and he pulled him over in the parking lot of Walmart/Verizon. While speaking with the driver, Kirby the officer learned and then confirmed through a background check, that Kirby had a restricted license with an interlock device, but no such device was found in Kirby’s automobile. Kirby was then issued a citation for driving on a revoked license. About 45 minutes after calling someone to pick him up, Kirby was observed by police driving out of the parking lot in his vehicle. He was stopped again and charged with driving on a revoked license. His bond is $3,500 and he will be in court on the charge May 16.

64-year-old David Haskell Pippin of Sparta is charged with simple possession. According to Chief Collins, while on patrol April 27, police spotted a vehicle which was stopped in the middle of the road on East Broad Street. The officer pulled over and spoke with the driver, Pippin. During the conversation police detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from Pippin and his vehicle. A subsequent search of the automobile turned up from a sunglasses case, a plastic baggie containing 14 yellow pills believed to be Gabapentin for which Pippin had no prescription.

65-year-old Robin Wayne Reyes of Meadowbrook Drive is charged with assault. Chief Collins said that on April 29 Reyes was arrested for allegedly kissing an 11-year-old girl inappropriately several times on the head without the consent of the child or parents. Bond for Reyes is $10,000 and his court date is May 16.

55-year-old Stephen Grant Ashburn is charged with driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, resisting arrest, and evading arrest. He was also cited for expired registration and failure to maintain lane of travel. According to Chief Collins, an officer while on patrol observed a vehicle, driven by Ashburn cross the center line of the highway several times. The officer activated his emergency lights signaling for the vehicle to pull over, but it continued traveling for another mile before stopping. After failing to comply with police instructions to exit the automobile, Ashburn was removed from the automobile but, according to police, he still failed to obey officer requests to show his hands although he was subsequently handcuffed. Police said Ashburn smelled of alcohol, his eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred. Ashburn submitted to but was unable to perform field sobriety tasks. Police also secured a warrant to obtain a blood sample from Ashburn. During a search of Ashburn’s vehicle, police found directly above the driver’s seat a loaded handgun. Also recovered were two empty bottles of liquor. Bond for Ashburn is $17,000 and his court date is May 23.

May 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School Tuesday recognized its staff member, student, and parent of the month for March.

Each received a certificate from the school and a gift card for a meal from Twisted Oaks. A different restaurant offers a meal gift card to each month’s honorees.

Jamie Cripps, DCHS office bookkeeper was selected by the administration as Staff member of the Month while Senior Samuel Gaspar is Student of the Month, voted on by the teachers. The parent of the month is Ross Stanley, and this honor was based on a winning essay written by his daughter Alexis Stanley, a junior at DCHS.

“For the March Parent of the Month honor, Alexis Stanley wrote an essay for her dad Ross. The students here at DCHS submit essays and we read through them and select one based not necessarily on the academic quality, but the substance of the essay and Alexis’s essay was one that impressed us most. We thought she did an excellent job showing us what her parents do for her day in and day out and we wanted to reward them for their efforts in helping make sure Alexis is successful,” said Assistant DCHS Principal Thomas Cagle.

Alexis said writing this essay was a way to express what her father means to her. “My whole family but especially my dad does a lot for us. My grandma can’t work so its really just me and my dad that are able to work. He makes sure all the time we always have what we need. He never lets us down when it comes to that,” said Alexis.

Ross Stanley, Alexis’ father said he was overwhelmed to receive this honor adding that Alexis means everything to him and that he is proud of her.

“For our Student of the Month we have Samuel Gaspar,” said Cagle. “Samuel has been a vital office aide for us. He has done a lot especially as a translator and interpreter. Samuel has helped numerous new students who have come into our school acclimating them to their schedules, showing them around, and being a guide for them. He has been a great student role model for us at school. I wish I had a thousand more students that were as helpful, kind, and courtesy as this young man. Samuel is definitely a young man who has earned this award,” said Assistant Principal Cagle.

“I feel incredible just receiving an award like this,” said Samuel. “I really haven’t had an award like this in a while. I’m at a loss for words. I have no way to express how I feel. Its surprising,” he said.

Gaspar said he plans to attend McMinnville TCAT and study auto mechanics and he may later transfer to further his education and skills on that career path at Lincoln Tech in Nashville.

Samuel has enjoyed his experience at DCHS. “I have learned a lot over the past four years. I have made a bond with a lot of the teachers and staff here,” he said.

Gaspar has a younger brother who is a student at Northside Elementary School.

Seventeen-year veteran educator Jamie Cripps was selected as the staff member for the month of March.

“Jamie really keeps this place going and all of us on track. We would be lost without her guidance, especially me being a new administrator for the last two or three years. I find it valuable to have her as part of this staff. She does a great job interacting with and being a friend to all the teachers and administrators. Jamie is very compassionate, loving, and caring and it shows in the way she relates with all of us in the office. We couldn’t be prouder to have her here at DCHS,” said Assistant Principal Cagle.

Jamie said the announcement of her being honored as staff member of the month took her by surprise, but she is thankful and humbled to have received it.

Cripps has spent her entire 17-year education career at DCHS. For the last eight years, Jamie has worked in the office as bookkeeper. In the beginning she worked in the CDC program before transitioning to the guidance office and then when dual enrollment went to an online offering, she moved to the classroom where she served for five years before taking the bookkeeper position.

May 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Members of the DeKalb EMS willing to do so may soon be sharing medical examiner investigator responsibilities when there is an ambulance call involving a death. Director Hoyte Hale would serve as the backup if no staff member is available at the time.

During a meeting Thursday night, the county budget committee approved the EMS operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year which includes provisions for payment to EMS staff trained to perform this duty working under the physician who serves as the actual medical examiner/county coroner.  According to the plan, $5,000 would be budgeted including $2,000 (for payment) in the medical personnel salary line item and $3,000 for overtime. Director Hale would be expected to make quarterly reports to the county’s Health, Education, and Public Welfare Committee on how this new plan is working.

All five budget committee members in attendance voted in favor of this plan including Tom Chandler, Sabrina Farler, Glynn Merriman, Jeff Barnes, and Mathias Anderson. Members Susannah Cripps and Tony (Cully) Culwell were absent.

Originally, the proposal was to make Director Hale the primary medical examiner death investigator and pay him an extra $5,000 per year and to have EMS employees serve as the backup but the budget committee failed to approve this option on a 3 to 2 vote. Those voting for the plan were Tom Chandler and Mathias Anderson while Sabrina Farler, Glynn Merriman, and Chairman Jeff Barnes voted against it.

Assistant EMS Director Trent Phipps, who came up with this idea, explained to the budget committee how death investigation calls were previously handled by the ambulance service.

“We used to use off duty EMS personnel to answer these calls contracted through the courthouse and (Medical Examiner) Dr. Denise Dingle to do the job at $100 per call,” said Phipps.

“I proposed to him (EMS Director Hale) that we get a group of people willing to do this in their off-duty time and pay them. The EMS has a long-established call in policy which means that if I call someone in to cover an ambulance, we pay them for three hours whether they work two or three hours. Of course, if it goes over, we have to pay them over,” said Assistant Director Phipps.

“I asked him (Director Hale) if it would be a good idea to get off duty people trained to come and cover the medical examiner calls and we pay them for three hours unless they do it more which is not very common but to pay them at least three hours to do this,” explained Phipps. “I have had a conversation with several EMS employees and got three solid yeses’ (willing to participate), a bunch of no’s, and a few maybes. The main concern most of them had was will I get paid and how much will I get paid. The other concern they expressed was how many people are going to do this because they do not want to do it all the time,” Phipps continued. “If I can get numbers to (these) people I might get more cooperation. Several of the people who said yes are part time employees and they won’t get any overtime, just straight time to do it,” he added.

According to Phipps, this plan would ensure that a medical death investigator is available to make a prompt response when summoned by law enforcement.

“It was my idea to set a schedule, so dispatch doesn’t have to call a bunch of people, with the sheriff’s department waiting on somebody to get there. Of course, the ambulance is going to show up to start the preliminary things because we have to go, but this would provide a set schedule, so dispatch knows who to call. I will set up a calendar and fill it out every month for who is on call,” said Assistant EMS Director Phipps.

According to statistics, the county averages 50-60 bodies per year in which a medical examiner/coroner’s report is needed.

At a previous meeting, Director Hale had asked the budget committee to include funding for four new EMS employees, preferably paramedics which would have been needed partly to fully staff a 24/7 crew at the Liberty Fire Station. But after later voting to deny the request, the committee asked Director Hale to rework his budget for re-submission without the proposed four new positions.

During his budget presentation Thursday night, Director Hale explained that after removing proposed funding for four new employees, the line item for medical personnel salaries was reduced from $911,787 to $771,406 for the year.

Part time pay has been increased from $135,000 this year to $140,000 next year and the allocation for overtime pay has been adjusted back to $200,000, down from the original request of $250,000. A part time secretary would get a three dollar per hour increase in pay going from $12 to $15 under Director Hale’s request.

With at three EMS employees planning to attend paramedic school, Director Hale has asked that the budget for In-service training be upped from $18,000 to $40,000.

Meanwhile, Hale wants the allocation for vehicle maintenance and repair to be increased by $10,000 from $65,000 to $75,000 and that the budget for maintenance and repair to the EMS building be adjusted by $3,500 to $8,500. Plans are to replace garage door motors, add security cameras and keyed door pad locks, and to do some painting.

Again, the budget committee approved the proposed $1,818,633 EMS budget for 2024-25 as re-presented by Director Hale. The county commission will have to give final approval with passage of the consolidated budget in June.