Man Gets Probation After Serving 114 Days for Statutory Rape

January 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Smithville man charged with statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl was in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday, January 29.

24-year-old Guadalupe Franz Aguilar-Estrada entered a guilty plea to the charge and received a two-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation with credit for time served. He was incarcerated for 114 days from October 6, 2023 to January 29, 2024.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Aguilar allegedly committed the offense on August 5, 2023.

The case was investigated by a sheriff’s department detective.

57-year-old Mario Castandeda Garcia entered a plea to a 2nd offense of driving under the influence and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to CPS probation except for 45 days to serve. The jail sentence may be served in a DUI center and rehab. He was fined $600.

22-year-old Christopher Edward Murphy-Spoon, Jr. entered a plea by criminal information to possession of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine under 0.5 grams for sale) and aggravated assault. He received a total sentence of six years all suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 in the drug case and was ordered to make restitution of $40,000 to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department in the assault case jointly and severally with two co-defendants. Spoon was given jail credit of 117 days. The six-year sentence in the meth case and the three-year term in the assault case are to run concurrently with each other and with a Warren County case against him.

Sheriff Ray said that on October 4, 2023 a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a red Nissan Altima for failure to maintain its lane of travel and spoke with the driver, Spoon. A background check through central dispatch confirmed that Spoon’s license was suspended. The officer then conducted a search of the vehicle and found 1.5 grams of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana along with 19 clear baggies and a scale with weights and 3.7 grams of a white powdery substance thought to be methamphetamine. Spoon also had in his possession a .25 caliber handgun with three bullets in the magazine. As a convicted felon, Spoon is to carry no weapons.

Meanwhile an attack on a fellow inmate at the jail sixteen days later resulted in an aggravated assault charge against Spoon.

Sheriff Ray said that on October 20, both Spoon and 24-year-old Gabriel James Hesson 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. The case against Hesson apparently remains pending in court.

35-year-old Timothy William Patrick entered a plea to possession of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine over 0.5 grams for sale) and received an eight-year sentence as a range I offender. A sentencing hearing will be held to determine the manner of service. He has been given jail credit of 405 days.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 20, 2022 a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a white Chevy Caprice for suspended registration and spoke with both the driver, 30-year-old Tavisha Juanita Hall and her passenger, Patrick. After obtaining permission to search, the officer found a small vial of a crystal-like substance inside a flashlight under the center console of the vehicle believed to be methamphetamine. The two were charged at the time with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver and cited for possession of drug paraphernalia after a scale was found next to the methamphetamine. The case against Hall apparently remains pending in court.

56-year-old Bradley John Baker entered a plea to the attempted sale of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine). He received a sentence of four years all suspended to TDOC probation and was fined $2,000. The sentence is to run concurrently with another case against him and he is to receive jail credit of five days. The indictment alleges that on or about January 20, 2023 Baker allegedly unlawfully and knowingly sold a schedule II-controlled substance (methamphetamine) in an amount over 0.5 grams. This case was investigated by the Smithville Police Department.

January 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Murfreesboro man believed responsible for picking up two DCHS students trying to run away fifteen months ago has been arrested.

22-year-old Jon Paul Russ of Murfreesboro is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court February 15.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on or about October 28, 2022 Russ was operating a 2014 Ford Escape on Tiger Drive near the health department when he picked up two juveniles who had just left DCHS without permission and intended to run away from home. One of the juveniles was in state custody and living at the New Frontiers Boys Home in Dowelltown. The other was under probation in DeKalb County. The missing teen information on both juveniles was entered into the National Crime Information Center. One of them was found in Murfreesboro on October 29, 2022. The case was investigated by the school resource officer. The warrant was signed on Russ November 2, 2022 and sent to the Murfreesboro Police Department on November 4, 2022. He was arrested only recently.

Two convicted felons found with a handgun during a traffic stop Friday have been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.

43-year-old Cameron Michael Hudgens of Sparta and 34-year-old Candace Star Short of Doyle are each under a $26,000 bond and will appear in court February 8.

Sheriff Ray said that on January 26 a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a white Nissan Altima for an improper display of tags. After obtaining consent, the officer searched the vehicle and found a Phoenix .22 caliber handgun between the passenger seat and center console. The two occupants of the vehicle, Hudgens and Short both admitted to being convicted felons but neither claimed ownership of the firearm.

30-year-old Trista Denise Armour of the Loop, Smithville is charged with filing a false report. Her bond is $7,500 and she will be in court February 8.

Sheriff Ray said that on January 3 Armour gave a voluntary written statement about an incident that led to the arrest of a defendant but then later changed her story resulting in the false report charge against her.

January 29, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for December 2023 were down from November but up from December 2022.

According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County collected $168,325 in local option sales taxes in December, 2023. While it did not keep pace with the $171,014 in local option sales taxes in November, collections for December 2023 outperformed the same month in 2022 by $7,377.

Smithville’s collections for December 2023 were $392,126, an increase from $367,352 in November, and up from $361,018 in December 2022.

Alexandria’s local option sales tax collections stood at $29,672 in December, up slightly from $28,266 in November but below the $33,570 collected in December 2022.

Dowelltown’s collections for December were $3,510, a jump from $3,014 in November and just barely under the $3,585 total from December, 2022.

Collections in Liberty stood at $12,527 in December compared to $12,499 in November and just below the $13,191 collections in December 2022.

Net collections for the county and cities combined for December, 2023 were $606,162, up from $582,147 in November and significantly more than the $572,314 collections in December , 2022.

December collections reflect activity for the previous month.

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