News
Top DeKalb West School Students Announced
April 2, 2025
By: Bill Conger
The academic best at DeKalb West for the third 9 weeks of this school year has been announced.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Mollie Bratten’s 8th grade homeroom are the following: Gabriel Blair, Dakota Ferrell, Halia McDaniel, and Kaden Mullinax. Making the AB Honor Roll are Jaretzy Aguilar, Katelyn Fry, Malachi Gaither, Ezzy Moore and Kylie Pierce.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Dwayne Blair’s 8th grade homeroom are Grant Brown, Mia Hall, Caroline Neal, and Kaylee Womack. On the A/B Honor Roll are Adam Brown, Cryslan Cecil, Bella Gonzalez, Yesica Gonzalez, and Makenna Lomas.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Leslie Moore’s 7th grade homeroom are Christian Cripps, Charley Prichard, Emily Roberts, Grady Thomason, and Preston Williams. On the A/B Honor Roll are Maks Austin, John Micheal Byrd, Landon Holmes, Averie Winchester, and Bentley Wright.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Wade Dunaway’s 7th grade homeroom are Alyssa Cecil, Zane Griffith, Levi Reynolds, Bentley Martin, and Lucas Nokes. On the A/B Honor Roll are Sophia Caraway, Hunter Clemons, Jackson Dunaway, Mason Hamlet, Brylee Key, Kayleigh Ramirez, and Alex Vincent.
Named to the Principal’s (All As) list from Kayley Curtis’s 6th grade homeroom are Paisley Avera, Wyatt Bain, Oliver Bell, Jameson Carter, Taelyn Cork, Zara Fox, Cash Hancock, Sawyer Hendrix, Cainnan Humphrey, Luke Johnson, Bailey McDaniel, Hailey Medrano, Karlee Pierce, Bradi Turney, and Kensley Womack. On the A/B Honor Roll are Samson Chittwood, Jack Fakes, Caison Grisham, Isabella Scott, and Lucas Yancey.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Melissa Sliger’s 6th grade homeroom are Leah Chittwood, Tyler Clemons, Jace Davis, Sylar Hickman, Holden Leiser, Ivy Melton, Karson Mullinax, Jaxson Murphy, Conner Robinson, Colton Saso-Varble, and Turner Stanley. On the A/B Honor roll are Hayden Caraway, Zadah Miller, Mason Nicholas, Derek Pinkston, Shayla Rebertus, Kayla Sebolt, and Lexie South.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Jeanna Caplinger’s 5th grade homeroom are Maddison Baratta, Shaniya Bates, Katy Bowen, Jaritzy Camacho, Aniston Cox, Asher Desimone, Harper Hale, Maggie Hendrix, Riley Martin, Carson Maynard, Cammi Neal, Aler Organ, Mabry Organ, and Savannah Stanley. On the A/B Honor Roll are Keiton Adams, Jonah King, Amiya Lewis, Mary Moore, Xavier Oyugi.
Named to the Principal’s (All A’s) List from Rachel Desimonie’s 5th grade homeroom are Abram Bratten, Eden Donnell, Annalyn Garrett, Noah Hall, Molly Reynolds, and Lileigh Smith. On the A/B Honor Roll are Waylon Ellis, Jordyn Janecke, Kalynn Lattimore, Wesleigh McBay,
Olivia Mullis, and Emma Thomason.
Named to the Principal’s (All A/s) List from Samantha Woodward’s 4th grade homeroom are Ripley Barnes, Claire Cripps, Vaylee Ellis, Jett Nokes, Marley Pyburn, and Auna Leigh Starnes. On the A/B Honor Roll are Paola Aguilar-Castellanos, Jacob Blair, Bryer Dickson, Lyric Heflin, and Joey Stoner.
Named to the Principal’s (All A/s) List from Cathleen Humphrey’s 4th grade homeroom are Josee Cripps, Everly Keith, Katie Jo Prichard, Andrew Salvilla, and Ty Vickers. On the A/B Honor Roll are Kennedy Avera, Axle Janecke, Madilyn Kitts, and Eliezer Santiago.
Hello Kitty (View Video Here)
April 2, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Hello Kitty!
Why not give a loving home to a loving cat!
“Tigger” is now available for adoption at the DeKalb Animal Shelter.
Tigger is a domestic short haired female cat. She is between 4 and 5 years old. Tigger has been fixed and is up to date on all her vaccines. Her adoption fee is $120.
If you are interested in meeting Tigger, fill out an application on the animal shelter website or come in. Visit https://www.dekalbanimalsheltertn.com/ or call 615-597-3647.
The shelter is open Mondays-Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Transfer Station Road off Highway 70 east behind Tenneco.
Three Defendants Including Smithville Businessman Plead Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Scheme to Defraud Automobile Auction
April 2, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
A Smithville businessman is among three people facing sentencing in September after entering a plea in federal court to charges against them in what the Department of Justice has called a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud a used car auction in Murfreesboro.
50-year-old Jerry W. Hutchins of Dowelltown along with 53-year-old Brian Baker of Mount Juliet and 54-year-old Stephanie Louise Baker of Mount Juliet will be sentenced in federal court on September 11.
In a prepared news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Tennessee reports that “On Monday, March 31, 2025, defendant Brian Baker, 53, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., pled guilty to all charges against him for a wire fraud and money laundering scheme to defraud an automobile auction business in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The other co-defendants, Stephanie Louise Baker, 54, of Mount Juliet, Tenn. and Jerry W. Hutchins, 50, of Dowelltown, Tenn., each pled guilty last week to all charges against them stemming from their involvement in the same wire fraud and money laundering scheme”.
“I commend the effort of the prosecutors from our office who are holding these thieves accountable for their crimes,” said Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
“We will continue to tirelessly seek justice for those affected by economic crimes here in our community.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling intricate financial transactions and money laundering schemes where individuals attempt to conceal the original source of their money,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office, will vigorously pursue those individuals who willfully try to enrich themselves by fraudulent means.”
“These defendants used fake transactions to operate a wire fraud and money laundering scheme to illegally enrich themselves,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI remains vigilant in the fight against fraud and will bring those who cheat and steal to justice.”
The federal indictment, returned by the grand jury in October 2023, had charged Stephanie Baker and Brian Baker, who are married, and Hutchins with a wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. The indictment also charged all three defendants with substantive offenses for acts of money laundering.
According to the indictment, between February 2017 and November 2018, Stephanie Baker was the General Manager of the Dealers Auto Auction Group’s Murfreesboro auction location. Brian Baker and Jerry Hutchins each owned and operated used car dealerships and did business at the auction. The defendants devised a scheme to defraud Dealers Auto Auction Group, LLC by creating fake transactions to make it appear that the defendants’ businesses had sold cars at the auction and were entitled to receive funds from Dealers Auto Auction Group, when in fact the defendants had not sold vehicles at the auction. Based on the fake transactions, Stephanie Baker caused Dealers Auto Auction Group to issue checks to Brian Baker’s and Hutchins’ businesses. Then, on a rolling basis each month, the defendants would create additional fake transactions using the same vehicles in order to conceal the original fraud and avoid detection. Brian Baker and Hutchins then converted proceeds of the fraud scheme for their own personal use and benefit.
As a result of this scheme, the defendants defrauded Dealers Auto Auction Group of more than $2 million.
The three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2025. The defendants face up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy, the money laundering conspiracy, and the concealment money laundering offenses, and up to 10 years in prison for domestic transaction money laundering. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation in which the government seeks to forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of the crimes, including a money judgment in the amount of at least $2,041,170 from Stephanie Baker, $1,357,310 from Brian Baker, and $683,830 from Jerry Hutchins.
This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Suedekum and Nani M. Gilkerson are prosecuting the case.
