Suspected Drug Dealer Sentenced in Criminal Court

October 25, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A suspected drug dealer who was arrested in February after a joint investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and Smithville Police Department has been sentenced in criminal court.

36-year-old Gary Christopher Ponder entered a plea on October 13 to a charge of possession of a schedule II drug, Fentanyl with intent to sell and received a six-year sentence all suspended to supervised probation except for one year to serve. He was fined $2,000. Ponder was given credit for 249 days served.

Ponder was one of two people busted during this investigation which netted between the two more than 103 grams of Heroin and Fentanyl along with other narcotics. The case against the other defendant, 62-year-old Tommye Lou Bell remains pending in court. Bell and two others were later indicted for 2nd degree murder and possession of Fentanyl and Cocaine with intent to sell in a separate case from December 2021 in which a drug related death occurred.

In the Ponder case for which he was sentenced on October 13, Sheriff Patrick Ray and Police Chief Mark Collins said that “On Sunday, February 5, 2023 in a joint operation with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Smithville Police Department, two search warrants were served at two different addresses including the homes of Bell and Ponder”.

The warrants against Ponder alleged that he sold to a confidential source working for the Smithville Police Department 3.3 grams of Heroin on February 2 and 14 grams of Heroin on February 5.

“At Bell’s home we found (marijuana) edibles with too high of a THC amount to be legal in Tennessee. There were 26 baggies of a white powdery and red powdery substance believed to be Heroin and Fentanyl totaling 103.31 grams with a street value of $15,000. We also seized morphine and diazepam pills, $20,000 in cash, a 2021 Honda CRV, and a Glock 43 nine-millimeter handgun and ammo,” said Sheriff Ray and Police Chief Collins.

According to the warrants against Bell, the search of her home turned up 26 baggies of a powdery substance believed to be Heroin/Fentanyl that weighed an estimated 103.31 grams, a variety of marijuana products including 28 bags of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana that weighed 7.4 ounces: 10 baggies of edibles (marijuana), four jars of marijuana cigarettes, and four tubes containing marijuana joints. Two- 30 milligram morphine pills and 3.5 diazepam pills were also found and collected at the residence along with numerous baggies, scales, and other paraphernalia, a Glock 43 nine-millimeter pistol and ammunition, an estimated $20,000 in cash, and a vehicle.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, 56-year-old Bradley John Baker entered a plea to attempting to deliver a schedule II drug and received a four-year sentence all suspended to TDOC supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 and given jail credit from September 15, 2023 to October 13, 2023.

October 25, 2023
By:

Tony Luna received the Big Wave Award at Lake Homes Realty’s National Agent Summit for his exceptional achievements in real estate.

The Big Wave Award is given to agents with a total transaction volume between $10 million and $25 million with 40 or more transition sides with a total transaction volume of $6 million or greater between Sept. 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023.

It should be noted that total transaction volume is the sum of the property sale price of each transaction side represented, even if the side represented was shared with another agent.

“Tony continues to impress with his hard work and dedication, year after year, and we are proud to present him with this major award,” said Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty. “The Big Wave Award is one of our company’s most prestigious honors,” Phillips said. “Agents like Tony are why Lake Homes Realty is one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.”

About Lake Homes Realty
Lake Homes Realty (LakeHomes.com) is a multi-state real estate company focused on lake homes and land.
The Alabama-based brokerage has been named six consecutive times as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. by Inc. Magazine. Lake Homes Realty is a licensed real estate brokerage in 35 states and is growing rapidly into additional states.

October 24, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Fourth district constable Lane Ball is the latest to pick up a qualifying petition for the March 5th DeKalb County Republican Primary.

Ball was elected to the position a year ago to fill an unexpired term. He is now planning to seek a full four-year term.

A total of four people has obtained petitions to date for the GOP Primary. Two of them plan to be in the race for Property Assessor including incumbent Shannon Cantrell and challenger Amy Clare Lockhart.

Incumbent fifth district constable Mark Milam has also picked up and returned his petition for re-election with the required number of signatures and he is now a qualified constable candidate for the primary.

Both the DeKalb County Republican and Democratic Parties will be holding primaries simultaneously on Tuesday, March 5th for the offices of Property Assessor, Constable (districts 1-7), and Board of Education (5th & 6th) districts along with the newly created position of criminal court judge-Part III in the 13th judicial district. The primaries will be held in conjunction with the Tennessee Presidential Preference Primary.

The qualifying deadline is Thursday, December 14 at 12 noon. The voter registration deadline for the March 5th primaries is February 5 and the early voting period will be Wednesday, February 14 through Tuesday, February 27. The Absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Independents wishing to run for Assessor of Property or Constable (districts 1-7), Board of Education (5th & 6th) districts, or for criminal court judge-Part III in the August 2024 County General Elections must also qualify by noon on Thursday, December 14

Party nominees and independents for these offices will run in the DeKalb County General Election on Thursday, August 1, 2024 and those elected will take office September 1, 2024.

The incumbents in these offices are Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell and Constables- 1st District: Waylon Kyle, 2nd District: Darrell Johnson, 3rd District: Travis Bryant, 4th District: Lane Ball, 5th District: Mark Milam, 6th District: Jason Brown, and 7th District: Johnny King.

The school board seats up for election in 2024 are currently held by Jamie Cripps in the 5th district and Jason Miller in the 6th district.

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