Inmate Attack Results in Charges Against Two Other Prisoners

October 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

An attack on a fellow inmate at the jail has resulted in aggravated assault charges against two prisoners.

24-year-old Gabriel James Hesson of Oak Drive, Smithville and 22-year-old Christopher Edward Spoon, Jr. are each under a $15,000 bond and will appear in General Sessions Court November 9.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on October 20 both Hesson and Spoon assaulted another male inmate at the jail by hitting him in the face several times with a closed fist. The fight was caught on video surveillance and officers responded to the cell to stop it. The video showed both Hesson and Spoon delivering the blows causing the victim to suffer broken bones, abrasions and facial swelling.

18-year-old Jackson Riley Arnold of Dale Ridge Road, Dowelltown is charged in a separate case of aggravated assault. His bond is $1,000 and he will make a court appearance November 2. Sheriff Ray said that on October 17 a deputy was summoned to a domestic assault call and upon arrival spoke with the caller who said his son, Arnold had struck him with a bat in the left hand. There were no apparent injuries, but Arnold allegedly admitted to committing the assault.

22-year-old Alexis Renee Harville of Austin Lake Road, Baxter is charged with domestic assault. Sheriff Ray said that on October 22 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Austin Lake Road due to a physical domestic complaint. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a man who reported that his girlfriend, Harville had struck him in the back and face as he was trying to leave the home in his truck. The man had a handprint on his back and a scratch under his left eye.

37-year-old Jennifer Dawn Johnson of Old Highway 53, Liberty is charged with domestic assault. She is under a $2,500 bond and her court date is November 9. Sheriff Ray said that on October 23 a deputy was summoned to Springside Lane due to a physical domestic complaint. Upon arrival he spoke with Johnson and a man, who had a bloody nose and a scratch on his left ear. The man reported that Johnson forced her way into a room with a board and that she struck him in the face with it.

40-year-old Krista Shaynae Hodges of Sandstone Court, McMinnville is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver and fabricating or tampering with evidence. She is under a $10,000 bond and her court date is November 9. Sheriff Ray said that on October 18 detectives pulled over a black Chrysler 300 near Briarwood Subdivision on Cookeville Highway due to an obstructed registration plate. The vehicle was registered to Hodges, and she was the driver and sole occupant of the automobile. Hodges gave consent for deputies search the vehicle and they found three baggies of a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine and another baggie with residue, a glass pipe with residue, and a black digital scale. The baggies with the substances weighed 0.51 grams, 1.23 grams, and 0.81 grams. Meanwhile, on the evidence tampering charge, Sheriff Ray said that in September a detective obtained a search warrant for a residence and two phones resulting in charges for illegal possession of drugs and weapons. While looking through the evidence on the Samsung Galaxy A03s the phone shut down and then remotely reset but all information that had been on the phone was lost. Later, an inmate at the jail had a video visit with Hodges which was recorded. On the video, Hodges admitted to having remotely reset the phone. According to Sheriff Ray, Hodges’ act of deleting evidence from the phone effectively hindered the drug investigation.

25-year-old Dimitri Bless of Blueberry Lane, Liberty is charged with driving under the influence. He is under a $1,500 bond and his court date is November 9. Sheriff Ray said that on October 27 a deputy responded to the area of Nashville Highway due to a report of a reckless driver traveling toward oncoming traffic. The officer spotted the vehicle, a Ford Explorer which was parked in the slow lane of Nashville Highway near Short Street. The vehicle had extensive damage from having hit a curb and a mailbox. After stopping to investigate, the deputy spoke with the driver, Bless and found that his pupils were constricted, and he was unsteady on his feet. Bless submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

October 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Christmas is the season for giving and children who participate in this year’s 9th Annual Patchwork Regifting Event will have a chance to experience that by doing something special for their parents and total strangers.

Regifting gives children ages 4 to 12 an opportunity to shop for their parents or caregivers at no cost. The gifts are then wrapped, tagged, and prepared for Christmas giving.

This year’s Regifting Event will be on Saturday, December 2 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. or until all gifts are gone at the DeKalb County Complex. Families must pre-register their children in order to be eligible for a chance to receive a door prize. Bring your children to the county complex and wait for them to shop. All children who shop will receive a goody bag.

Donations are collected throughout the year for this event so that those who can’t afford to buy gifts can still share in the joy of giving by regifting something.

“We let kids come in and shop for their parents or caregivers. It’s not income based. It’s for anybody. They shop for free, wrap the presents, and fill out the card,” said Kim Walker, who organizes the annual event.

The children are then asked to prepare a blessing bag to be given to others.

This year, children will help assemble Blessing Bags for local veterans.

Walker said the hope is the children take home more than that. “We’re trying to share God’s love with kids to plant a seed so that no matter how old they are they always remember to help somebody else”.

The kids and other volunteers will also decorate a quilt square. “After they decorate the quilt squares we put them together and donate the quilt to somebody who needs a blessing in the community due to a health or life challenging issue,” said Walker. Again, you may contact the event organizers to nominate someone for the quilt.

If you need more information or would like to volunteer call or text Chelsye Madden at 931-247-3369 or Joanna Fuson at 615-517-9100. Please no calls after 5 p.m. You may also call Amber Adams at 615-684-5798 from 6-8 p.m. Email patchworkuc@outlook.com or visit facebook.

October 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA), with the help of volunteers, will again be preparing and delivering Thanksgiving Meals to DeKalb County residents on Thursday, November 23.

This year’s meal will consist of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, roll, and a homemade dessert.

If you or a family member would like a hot meal on Thanksgiving Day, please call one of the numbers listed below or visit the website listed to be added to our delivery list. They will need your address, phone number, and the number of persons in your household. The meals are scheduled to be delivered between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon.

DESA will accept names of persons requesting a meal through Sunday, November 19.

To get your name on the delivery list, call 615-390-0297 or 615-712-4286 or visit www.dekalbesa.com/meal
Additionally, if you want to support this community project by donating or volunteering your time to prepare meals and/or make deliveries, you can contact the phone number above or visit www.dekalbesa.com/help to donate or sign up to volunteer.

The DeKalb Emergency Services Association also plans to prepare and deliver meals on Christmas Eve. A future announcement will be publicized later for this project.

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