Prisoner Charged with Escape For Failing to Return to Jail After Attending Mother’s Funeral

July 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A prisoner who was granted a furlough to attend his mother’s funeral in May has been charged with escape after he failed to report back to jail at the appointed time.

45 year old Terry Lynn Bass of High Street, Alexandria is under a $5,000 bond.

“Bass was in jail when his mother passed away over the Memorial Day weekend. The judge granted a furlough for him to attend his mother’s funeral and he was to report back to jail on May 27 but he failed to do so. An escape warrant was then issued and he will make a court appearance on the charge July 25,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray.

49 year old Greg Bond, Jr. of Short Mountain Highway, Smithville is charged with being a fugitive from justice. His bond is $75,000 and his court date is July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 6 a deputy responded to a suspicious person call on New Home Road and found Bond in the area. A check through The National Crime Information Center revealed that Bond is a fugitive from Justice out of Van Buren County, Michigan. He is to be extradited.

60 year old David Alan Puckett of McMinnville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 7 a deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop for a light law violation and failure to maintain lane of travel but the vehicle he was pursing continued to drive for over a mile even after the deputy turned on his blue lights and sirens. The automobile finally pulled into a residence on Vaughn Lane. The driver, Puckett had a strong odor of alcohol on him and he was unsteady on his feet. He performed poorly on field sobriety tasks and although Puckett submitted to implied consent a warrant was obtained for a blood sample from him.

49 year old Tommy Darrell Clayborn of Highway 96, Liberty is charged with possession of a handgun while under the influence. His bond is $5,000 and his court date is July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 5 a deputy was dispatched to Goose Creek Road, Alexandria due to an unresponsive man inside a white GMC pickup truck. An Alexandria Police Officer arrived on the scene first and reported to the deputy that the man, Clayborn was unresponsive and had a Ruger SR 40 caliber handgun on him. The officer removed the weapon for his own safety. After EMS arrived and used Narcan on Clayborn he regained consciousness. Clayborn appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance while in possession of a loaded gun.

36 year old Ashley Nicole Owen of Twilla Lane, Smithville is charged with aggravated criminal trespassing and criminal impersonation. Her bond is $6,500 and she will make a court appearance July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 4 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Twilla Lane due to a woman trespassing on the property. Upon arrival the officer encountered the woman, Owen who was very uncooperative. She identified herself as Jessica Owen but after a further investigation the officer learned that her actual name is Ashley Nicole Owen. The homeowner told the deputy that Owen did not have consent to be on the property.

35 year old Serina Euladawn Mabe of Old West Point Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $4,000 and she will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 3 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Old West Point Road due to a possible domestic assault. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a woman who had a knot on her forehead and red marks on her right eye. The woman said that she and her daughter, Mabe had gotten into an argument over Mabe not helping around the house. Mabe then began to punch her mother in the forehead and eyes.

21 year old Dustin Lee Utley of Sparta is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 4 a deputy was called to a residence on Jack Hudson Road due to a domestic assault and learned that Utley had tried to strangle a woman during an assault. The victim had suffered injuries to her throat from the attack.

22 year old Dylan Allen Crook of Alexandria is charged with burglary, theft of property over $10,000, and vandalism. He is under a $55,000 bond and his court date is July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on June 29 Crook broke into a garage on Ferrell Road and stole several items including tools, luggage, emergency vehicle lighting, and a dirt bike stand with a total value of $11,501. He also destroyed ignition switches trying to steal a John Deere 5103 tractor, Polaris Outlaw 90 ATV, Bobcat lawnmower, and a Ranger Crew 1,000 XP UTV. Damage to the ignition switches and to the door frame of the garage where this equipment was stored came to $1,120.

26 year old Lauren Michelle Alcorn is charged with fraudulent use of a credit card. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on June 24 Alcorn took a First Bank Visa debit card belonging to another woman without her consent and used it several times at different locations totaling $46.64.

37 year old Jeremiah Lloyd Steakley of McMinnville is charged with theft of property over $1,000. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 24 Steakley took a Titan 440 spray paint rig but it was later recovered from him by officers of the McMinnville Police Department. The total value of the spray paint rig is $1,800.

48 year old Rodger Michael Gifford is charged with criminal trespassing. He is under a $2,500 bond and his court date is July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that July 1 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Holmes Creek Road due to a trespasser. Upon arrival the officer found Gifford on the road. Several witnesses informed the deputy that Gifford had left a package by a mailbox at a residence on Holmes Creek Road. Gifford admitted to having left a bag by the mailbox. He has reportedly done the same thing before at this residence and other homes.

July 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A local family in the business of selling CBD oils and hemp products is upset with leaders of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival

David, Daniel, and Christy Lunsford of Smithville Hemp Dispensary believe they have been the victims of discrimination and may seek a legal remedy.

According to the Lunsford’s, the Jamboree Committee agreed on Friday to allow them to rent space as a vendor downtown during the Jamboree to display their CBD products but hours later the Lunsford’s rental was cancelled and their money refunded after Jamboree leaders objected to some of the products the lunsfords had on display.

In a telephone interview with WJLE Monday, Christy Lunsford gave her version of what transpired.

“My father-in-law, David Lunsford owns the Smithville Hemp Dispensary and my husband Daniel and I run it for him,” said Christy.

“I got in touch with the crafts director at the Jamboree on Friday and asked if we could set up a booth. She asked me what I would be selling and I told her edibles, topicals, smokables, oils, and anything I had in my store. She told me that every Jamboree board member would have to approve it because of the type of business we have. Twenty five minutes after I got off the phone with her I received a phone call saying that every board member at the Jamboree approved us. My booth fee was $135 cash. That is all I had to do and I got a booth. I went to the store, packed together all my stuff, and here we went to the Jamboree. While we were setting up the crafts director came up, took our money, and gave me a receipt but I had already put some of our products on the table,” said Christy.

“About 9:30 p.m. that night (Friday) while I was sitting there with my 3 month old baby and 11 year old daughter, three Jamboree board members and two police officers came up to my booth and asked me to leave. They told me it was because of the products we had. They called it “paraphernalia” but it’s not considered “paraphernalia” if it’s not used for drugs and hemp is 100% legal. They had problems with my flowers and my (smoking) pipes so I offered to put all that up and just sell my CBD products, my oils, salves, and edibles but I was still told I would have to leave,” Christy continued.

“I asked for my money back but was told I would have to come back in the morning to get it. I called my husband and father-in-law to tell them what had happened and that I needed help packing up. They showed up but decided they wanted to hear it directly from the Jamboree board members themselves. The board members were contacted and returned to our booth Friday night and told my husband and father-in-law the same thing they had told me but they added that our tee shirts were also offensive. Our shirts say Smithville Hemp Dispensary on them. The shirts have images of three hemp leaves and underneath the leaves it says calming, beneficial, and drug free CBD. I didn’t realize the Jamboree had a dress code. My husband then asked for our money back and said he would not leave without it. The guy (Jamboree official) pulled out a big ole wad of money and handed Daniel his money back. As he was handing him his money back, he said how about we trade? He said I want your receipt back that we wrote you for the booth. Daniel refused to give it to him because then we would have no proof that we had a booth there. We then packed our stuff up and left,” said Christy.

“I was embarrassed and humiliated in front of my customers which was really uncalled for. Five grown men came to ask me, a 98 pound woman, to leave. Was that necessary? There wasn’t even a female in their group. It was all men. It was like they were there to intimidate me,” she added.

Meanwhile the Jamboree Board has released its own statement as to what occurred. In the following statement, Jamboree officials said their concern was not about the CBD oils but the paraphernalia on display at the Lunsford’s booth.

“The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree Board would like to address the recent accusation of disallowing a local business from participating as a booth vendor during the two-day festival. The board stated that, ‘Although the festival makes every attempt to include any handmade crafts, or family-friendly retail business that goes through our annual registration process, this situation was an unusual one.’

“At approximately 1:30 PM on Friday during the event, the vendor in question contacted our crafts director to purchase a booth. This was well past our vendor deadlines, but she agreed to consider an exception for hospitality’s sake,” said President and Coordinator Sam Stout. “With that said, the crafts director gathered the board for an impromptu vote, and said that a local business was wanting to sell CBD oils at a booth. The board voted to allow the oils to be sold. Hours later, it was reported to me that paraphernalia was being sold at a vendor booth. I took a board member and a city police officer to assess the situation. Upon seeing the booth, it was clear to all of us that there were items that we would not allow to be sold at our festival. This has absolutely nothing to do with the selling of CBD oil, it is actually quite the opposite considering that the oil is the only thing our board had approved for them to sell. In addition, we had other pre-approved booth vendors selling CBD oil as well. Due to the paraphernalia at their booth, we requested the vendor to leave. They refused to leave without a full explanation of why they were receiving a refund, so I came back with Chief Mark Collins and Officer Ball as a witness, along with two Jamboree committee members. After talking with the vendors, they asked if they could remove the paraphernalia and go back to selling the CBD oil. After breaking the original agreement, we were uncomfortable with that arrangement and told them that it would be in the best interest of everyone if they accepted their refund and left. A cash refund was given, a picture of the receipt was taken for our records, and no combative behavior or harsh words were spoken by either party.“

Per the official Jamboree Craft Vendor Rules it states under article (6) ‘that you may be asked to leave if you have items not approved by the craft committee’, and article (21) ‘the Jamboree officials have the final say.’

The Jamboree Board would like the community to know that it is always their goal to work with local businesses and local non-profits to provide a profitable platform for business growth, along with fund-raising efforts. We strive to do everything we can to keep the Jamboree a clean, family-friendly event, and will continue to provide a safe weekend for everyone,” the statement concluded.

July 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Cookeville attorney Wesley Bray has been appointed by Governor Bill Lee to succeed David Patterson as criminal court judge in the 13th Judicial District

Patterson retired from the bench June 30th. 

“Wesley brings extensive experience to this role and will serve the 13^th district with integrity,” said Lee. “We welcome him to this role and appreciate his willingness to serve.”

Bray has been a solo practitioner for 14 years with experience in criminal and civil proceedings. Additionally, he is a Rule 31 family mediator with a focus on divorce and family law issues. Bray is a graduate of Nashville School of Law and Tennessee Tech University.

He resides in Cookeville with his wife of 17 years, Ashley, and their three children.

Bray is one of four people who initially applied with the Trial Court Vacancy Commission to be recommended for the appointment along with Rebecca Brady and J. Michael Shipman of Cookeville, and Jeffrey A. Vires of Crossville. The commission recently interviewed the candidates and submitted to the Governor the names of Brady, Bray, and Shipman for consideration.

Bray will serve until a special election in 2020. The winner of that election will serve the remaining years of Patterson’s unexpired term which ends on August 31, 2022.

In 2014, Bray sought the Republican nomination for Criminal Court Judge, Part I but lost to Gary McKenzie in the May Primary by a final count of 7,819 to 6,883. Bray carried six of the seven counties in the 13^th judicial district but lost to McKenzie in Cumberland County. McKenzie went on to defeat his Democratic opponent William Fred Roberson in the 2014 August General Election. McKenzie succeeded veteran Democratic Judge Leon Burns, Jr. who decided not to seek re-election.

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