June 6, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A McMinnville man is in trouble with the law for allegedly attacking his former foster parent and that man’s daughter.
22-year-old Garrett Nicolas Vallem is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Bond for Vallem is $20,000 and he will make a court appearance on June 22.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on June 1, a deputy was summoned to a residence on Old Bildad Road due to a 911 wrong number call. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a man and his daughter who reported that Vallem showed up intoxicated at their home and began arguing. They said Vallem then stood up and hit his former foster parent several times on the arms, ribs and face, before putting his hands around the man’s neck rendering him almost unconscious. As the daughter intervened trying to break up the fight, Vallem allegedly hit and grabbed the woman by the throat, rendering her almost unconscious. The officer reported that the former foster parent had red marks on his neck and the side of his head, as well as a cut on his elbow and head, while the woman also showed red marks around her neck.
36-year-old Timothy Leon Summers Jr. of Midway Road, Smithville, is charged with filing a false report. His bond is $5,000 and will be in court on June 8. Sheriff Ray said that on May 23 a deputy went to a residence on New Bildad Road, Smithville, looking for a woman who was under an active warrant. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Summers, who reported that the woman the officer was looking for was not at the residence, but at her mother’s house. The deputy then spotted the woman walking out of the home. She was placed in custody and Summers was arrested for filing a false report.
28-year-old Chase Allen Fults of McMinnville is charged with evading arrest by a vehicle. His bond is $7,500 and he will make a court appearance on June 7. Sheriff Ray said that on April 30 while patrolling Sparta Highway, a deputy spotted a black car traveling at a high rate of speed, and it left its lane of travel several times. The deputy activated his blue lights and siren, but the vehicle refused to stop. The driver, Fults then crashed after failing to negotiate a curve. He was injured in the wreck and later arrested.
50-year-old Daniel Lee Pickford of Clemet City, Michigan was arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant on May 25. He is under a $75,000 bond. Sheriff Ray said that Pickford was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for a traffic offense. During a background check through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the deputy learned that Pickford had a felony warrant against him in Michigan for failing to pay child support. He is to be extradited back to Michigan.