Police Charge Two In Escape Attempt

July 12, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Police recently charged two people in an escape attempt

44 year old Byron Ray Wilson of 620 Smith Road was arrested on June 23 for escape along with 19 year old Hannah Marie Grisham of 7073 Short Mountain Highway for permitting or facilitating escape. According to police, Wilson was taken into custody on outstanding warrants and placed inside a patrol car. While the officer was getting into the driver’s seat to transport Wilson, Grisham opened the passenger door to let Wilson escape. After Wilson was captured, the officer found Grisham hiding in a dryer at the residence of 199 Carter Drive where she was also taken into custody. Bond for Wilson is $15,000 and $7,500 for Grisham.

39 year old Tommy Jerome Bates of 848 Foster Road was arrested on June 3 for disorderly conduct. Police were dispatched to Anthony Avenue after a man was observed walking in the roadway and yelling. The officer stopped to speak with the man, Bates and warned him to be quiet. Later at approximately 3:35 am, police were dispatched to Cill Street for a similar complaint and found Bates again making noise keeping people from being able to sleep. This time Bates was taken into custody. His bond was set at $1,500.

26 year old Brandon Dale Winne of 104 Windham Street was arrested on June 3 for domestic assault. Police were summoned to investigate a domestic complaint and discovered that Winne had grabbed the victim’s phone from her, threw it and then struck her in the face, leaving a visible injury over her right eye. After Winne went outside, the victim locked the door and shoved a couch in front of it to prevent Winne from coming back in but he kicked the door in. The victim, while yelling for Winne to go away, locked herself in a room until police arrived. Bond for Winne is $5,000.

Jeffery Johnson of Smithville was arrested for public intoxication on June 4. Police responded to 623 Restview Avenue in reference to an unwanted person. Upon arrival the officer found the suspect, Johnson on the back sidewalk of the residence where he had thrown trash and rocks all about the area. While speaking with him, the officer noticed that Johnson’s speech was slurred. He was unsteady on his feet and he seemed to be confused and disoriented. Johnson was arrested for his safety and that of the public. His bond was set at $1,500.

38 year old Micheal Eugene Lattimore of 257 Oak Street was arrested on June 4 for public intoxication. Lattimore was found crying, yelling, and cussing while standing at the intersection of South Mountain & West Bryant Street. The investigating officers noticed that Lattimore was unsteady on his feet. Lattimore’s speech was slurred and he became belligerent towards the officers while yelling at residents in the area. Due to his behavior, he was taken into custody. His bond was set at $1,000.

41 year old Charles John Ward of 814 Luttrell Avenue was arrested on June 6 for domestic assault. Police were dispatched to Ward’s home to investigate a domestic complaint. Upon arrival the officer spoke with the victim who had a red mark on the side of her leg. Police learned that Ward was intoxicated and became angry with the victim after something she said. Ward then punched her in the leg and swung his fist at her though she was able to dodge the blow. Ward then fell in the floor and the victim was able to go outside until police arrived. Ward’s bond is $5,000.

49 year old Melvin Eugene Turnbill of 863 J.E. Evins Avenue was arrested on June 8 for violation of an order of protection and he was cited for speeding. Police pulled Turnbill over for speeding and learned through a computer check with central dispatch that there was an active order of protection against Turnbill to keep away from the petitioner (victim) but Turnbill was on the phone with the victim as the officer was speaking with him. The victim also drove by and stopped in the street to speak with another officer on the scene. Bond for Turnbill is $3,500.

41 year old Anthony Doel Atnip of 811 Luttrell Avenue was cited on June 8 for assault. Police said Atnip assaulted the victim by hitting him in the face twice with his hand causing injury to the victim’s eye and face.

24 year old Jeff Rayburn Prisock of 511 Carter Street was arrested on June 11 for driving under the influence and he was cited for speeding and violation of financial responsibility. Police spotted Prisock traveling 54 mph in a 30 mph zone on a black motorcycle. The officer initiated a traffic stop on South Congress Boulevard and detected an odor of alcohol coming from Prisock. His eyes were glossy. He was unsteady and his speech was slurred. While speaking with Prisock, the officer learned that he had been drinking a couple hours prior. Prisock submitted to a series of standardized field sobriety tasks but performed poorly and he could not provide proof of insurance. His bond was $1,500.

49 year old Patsy Lynn Estes of 630 Highland Avenue was arrested on June 19 for domestic assault. Police were summoned to investigate a possible domestic complaint and spoke with both parties involved. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Estes had gone to the victim’s residence after a verbal altercation across the yard and punched her in the face. The victim had visible injuries. Estes was determined to have been the primary aggressor and was taken into custody without incident. Bond for Estes was $2,500.

39 year old Tommy Jerome Bates of 848 Foster Road was cited on June 19 for shoplifting. Bates was found in the restroom at Food Lion with a 24 ounce Natty Daddy Natural Beer that he had not paid for. Store employees observed the shoplifting incident.

54 year old Jeffery Lee Johnson was arrested on June 19 for public intoxication and resist stop, halt, frisk, arrest. Police were summoned to 608 South Congress Boulevard where a man in overalls was walking in and out of the roadway. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the man, Johnson who was wearing only overalls with no shoes or socks. He was standing in the parking lot weaving back and forth. While the officer was speaking with him, Johnson began moving away from him and then took off running. After being caught, Johnson tried to resist arrest. His bond is $5,000 and his court date is July 15.

52 year old Micheal Lynn Vance was arrested for criminal trespass on June 24. Police were called to 628 Andrew Street to break up a fight. Upon arrival the officer was informed that Vance was trying to fight others. Vance was ordered to keep away from this property at the Housing Authority on July 20 and had previously been issued a citation on September 8, 2020 for trespassing there. Vance was taken into custody without incident. His bond was set at $3,500 and he will be in court July 15.

42 year old Jason Richard Skaroupka of 1222 South College Street was cited on June 16 for driving on a revoked license and simple possession. An officer observed Skaroupka leaving Kwik-N-Ezy in a Dodge Caravan knowing that his license were revoked. The officer then pulled over Skaroupka and after receiving a consent to search, found 0.9 grams of a white crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine in the vehicle. His court date is July 22.

40 year old Rickey Lynn Martin was arrested on June 27 for public intoxication. Police were called to 466 West Broad Street where a man was observed running around the store bothering people. Upon arrival, the officer confronted the man, Martin who was talking very fast and moving around uncontrollably. The officer could not understand most of what Martin was saying but was under the impression that he (Martin) thought someone may have put drugs in his drink. Martin was determined to be a danger to himself and others. His bond is $1,500 and his court date is July 22.

July 12, 2021
By: Bill Conger

Friday night lights were missing something last year when the DeKalb County High School Tigers ran out onto the football field. Players hunkered down on the gridiron while spirited cheerleaders rooted them on and fans yelled encouragement in the stands. But the live music was silenced when COVID restrictions prevented the Fighting Tiger Band from playing.

“With the year we had last year, I wanted to make it fun,” new Band Director Don Whitt said of the marching show planned for this season. “We didn’t get to go do [hardly] anything last year. We got to do 3 home games. We didn’t get to do any away games. We didn’t get to do any competitions. We got to do 3 Christmas parades and we got an award for one of the Christmas parades. So, we were an award-winning marching band,” Whitt adds, laughing.

Whitt and former Band Director Tracy Luna brainstormed about a show theme that would inject excitement into the halftime entertainment.

“Tracy and I are both jazz people,” Whitt said. “We came from the University of North Alabama, and they have a predominantly jazz school. We asked, ‘What could we do to tell a story?’”

Inspiration struck when the two remembered the classic movie quote—“We’re getting the band back together.”— from Jim Belushi’s character, Joliet Jake Blues, in The Blues Brothers.

“I said we’ve got to get the band back together,” Whitt said at the band room during a break from Percussion Camp last week. “It’s about time that they get to do their thing.”

Preparations for the marching show began even before the two weeks of band camp kicked off July 12.

“You assess from what you did the previous year,” Whitt explains. “I think this is where I’d like to go and then I’d like to take them a little further next year.”

That measuring stick was hampered somewhat by the limited performances last school year.

“Since this is COVID season, it’s a gamble,” Whitt said.

“You’re looking at the worst players to the best players. What does a majority of the group play well? The majority of the group are your leaders basically, and the rest follow.”

Whitt hired Jon Oliver, a drill writer and the band director at Upperman High School, to help him design a show based on the band’s strengths and weaknesses while making it entertaining. First, the band director had to face the added challenge of teaching marching fundamentals.

“The majority of the band has never marched before. The first week of band camp is mainly geared for learning how to march, taking baby steps. They’ll have the older ones, seniors or section leaders, work with them to show them how to march.”

A team of mainly Tennessee Tech music education majors teach students in the areas of high brass, low brass, and woodwinds. The drum line began work prior to band camp with the guidance of Erica Birmingham, a recent Belmont University music graduate and former DCHS band member.

“We almost combine a year’s worth of teaching within two weeks that I can’t do on my own. They get a phenomenal amount of teaching. It’s worth the money you spend for those people.”

“They [students] start with the fundamentals and they progress. They’ll be working on a song a day. Hopefully, within the next two weeks they should have at least 3 to 4 of those songs memorized.”

Ideally, Whitt would like to have the first two of four scheduled songs with drill show in place by the end of band camp. While improving that segment of the performance, band students will work on the remaining show tunes leading up to the band’s first Friday night action on August 20 in Warren County. The band will debut its new show at the first home game of the season against Smith County on August 27.

July 10, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Jail was evacuated Saturday after a homeless man dropped off a suspicious container on the front porch of the sheriff’s department.

The man, 46 year old Jimmy Mason Page, told a correctional officer that the contents were radioactive. It turns out that the container held a case of roadside reflective warning triangles, which are often used by semi truck drivers during a breakdown on the highway.

Page is charged with filing a false report (bomb threat). His bond is $10,000 and he will make a court appearance July 29.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said the incident began at 11:14 a.m. Saturday when a shirtless white male came to the jail carrying a red box. After he laid the container on the front porch a correctional officer confronted him and asked what he was doing. The man said someone gave him the box and he thought it to be radioactive so he was going to leave it there at the jail. The man then turned and left. Due to the threat the correctional officer started evacuating the jail. All 76 inmates were removed from the building for their safety and taken to the exercise pen behind the jail. After central dispatch (911) was notified a Smithville Police Officer reported that he might know the suspect and found the man who was brought back to the jail and identified as Jimmy Mason Page.

Officers reviewed security video footage at the jail which confirmed that Page was the man who dropped off the container.

Page was charged with filing a false report (making a bomb threat) knowing that the threat was untrue and that it would evoke an emergency response (an evacuation of the jail) and place others in fear of bodily injury.

Sheriff Ray said he wants to thank the Smithville Police and Fire Departments, DeKalb EMS, and the Central Dispatch team for their assistance. City firefighters and officers blocked off the area near the jail. DeKalb EMS set up a staging area close by as a precaution. A device was used to check the suspicious container for radioactivity before it was opened and detected none.

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