Hernandez Accused of trying to strangle his daughter

January 8, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

A man who allegedly pointed a handgun and then tried to strangle his daughter is facing charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and aggravated assault.

62-year-old Lorenzo Hernandez of Dowelltown is under a $40,000 bond and he will make a court appearance January 9.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on December 28 Hernandez allegedly tried to strangle his daughter and pointed a firearm at her. A handgun, believed to have been used in the incident, was recovered from the lint compartment of a dryer. A background check revealed that Hernandez is a convicted felon in Florida on burglary, 3rd degree felony and larceny charges. His conviction date was March 12, 1993.

41-year-old Amber Nicole Macleod of Springhill is charged with aggravated assault. Her bond is $10,000

Sheriff Ray said that on January 1 a deputy was summoned to Mullican Lane due to a burglary in progress. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a man who had been stabbed. The man said Macleod had stabbed him over an argument regarding a cell phone. The man had a cut to his upper right arm near his shoulder and a cut to his left-hand ring finger.

58-year-old Howard Robert Mayo, Jr. of Liberty is charged with simple possession of a schedule VI drug and possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. His bond is $56,500 and he will be in court January 9.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 21 a deputy pulled over a silver Ford F150, spoke with the driver, Mayo; and smelled marijuana in the vehicle. The officer asked Mayo to step out of the automobile and a search turned up from the driver door panel 3.76 grams of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana. Knowing that Mayo often kept narcotics in his wallet, the deputy asked to see the billfold and inside was 1.12 grams of a crystal-like substance thought to be methamphetamine. When asked for his driver license, Mayo only had an ID license. A background check through central dispatch revealed that Mayo’s driver license was revoked due to a Cannon County DUI on September 21, 2001.

55-year-old Jeffery Lee Bates of Old West Point Road is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $3,000 and he will be in court January 9.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 21 a deputy was dispatched to the intersection of Old West Point Road and Maynard Road where a man was reported to be lying in a ditch. Upon arrival the officer found the man, Bates passed out. Bates smelled of alcohol and when awakened became unsteady on his feet.

22-year-old Peyton Eugene Hollingsworth of Dowelltown is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court January 16.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 22 a deputy spotted a Toyota pickup fail to maintain its lane of travel. He conducted a traffic stop and spoke to the driver, Hollingsworth who smelled of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and watery. Hollingsworth submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He admitted to having consumed a few beers.

27-year-old Brandon Ezequiel Cotuc of Cookeville is charged with driving under the influence and no driver license. His court date is January 16.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 22 at 3:32 a.m. a deputy was patrolling Sparta Highway when he spotted a gray Honda Accord fail to maintain its lane of travel. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke to the driver, Cotuc whose eyes were watery and bloodshot. Cotuc was asked to step out of the automobile. He submitted to a field sobriety task but after performing poorly, he refused to undergo any further tasks.

43-year-old Shane Curtis Gardner of Sparta Highway is charged with aggravated assault and interfering with an emergency call. He is under a $12,500 bond and his court date is January 9.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 23 a deputy was summoned to Sparta Highway to investigate an aggravated assault complaint from the day before, December 22 in which a woman claimed that Gardner allegedly tried to strangle her. The woman was found to have red marks on her face and the side of her neck, bite marks on her body, and she had bruising to both of her eyes. Gardner had also allegedly taken the woman’s phone to keep her from calling 911.

41-year-old Thomas Jacob Sims is charged with being a fugitive from justice. He is under a $50,000 bond and his court date is January 9.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 26 a deputy went to E.H. Haas Road to serve an active Georgia parole warrant on Sims. Georgia authorities confirmed they would extradite Sims.

21-year-old John Isaac Brinkley of Lewisburg is charged with aggravated assault. He is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is January 9.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 26 a deputy went to Toad Road due to a report of an assault involving a gun. The officer spoke with a man who said he and Brinkley had gotten into an argument and that Brinkley had spat in his face. Brinkley then allegedly picked up a chainsaw and came toward him with it.

48-year-old James Walter Stringer of Dowelltown is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $20,000.
Sheriff Ray said that on December 28 a deputy was summoned to a residence on West Main Street in Dowelltown due to an unwanted guest. The officer spoke with a woman who said that Stringer had rammed his truck into the back of her car to keep her from leaving. There was damage to the driver side rear bumper. Before the officer arrived, Stringer had gone back to his house and later told the deputy that he had been there asleep the whole time.

Stringer was again arrested on December 30 for violation of the sex offender registry. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on this charge January 16. The warrant against Stringer was obtained on December 30.

Sheriff Ray said that on October 4 a detective was notified that Stringer had been operating a social media account that he had not listed in the sex offender registry. After reviewing the account, the detective was able to positively identify Stringer by the tattoos he had noted in the booking system at the jail and through prior law enforcement encounters with Stringer.

43-year-old Randy Mark Hawkins, Jr. of Cecil Hale Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court January 16.

Sheriff Ray said that on January 1 a deputy spotted a gray Ford F150 fail to maintain its lane of travel heading outbound on South Mountain Street, Smithville. The officer activated his blue lights but the vehicle continued a slow roll and swerved side to side in the lane. The deputy subsequently pulled over the automobile and spoke with the driver, Hawkins who smelled of alcohol and he had bloodshot watery eyes. His speech was also slow and slurred. Hawkins admitted to having been drinking. After getting out of the truck, Hawkins became unsteady on his feet. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

37-year-old Landon Craig Wyatt, Jr. of Crestlawn Avenue Smithville is charged with bringing contraband into a penal institution. His bond is $7,500 and he will be in court January 16.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 31 Wyatt brought a pair of white thermals to the jail dropping them off for an inmate currently incarcerated. A correctional officer found inside the waistband of the thermals behind the tag what was believed to be buprenorphine strips.

January 8, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Tigers avenged a 61 to 60 loss a month ago at Carthage to the Smith County Owls with a 50 to 43 victory over the Owls Tuesday night in Smithville. The Owlettes completed a season sweep of the Lady Tigers winning 60 to 45 after knocking off DC 76 to 53 on December 2.

The Tigers are now 8-9 while the Lady Tigers drop to 5-12. DeKalb County will be in action at White County Thursday night, January 9 starting with the girls game at 6 p.m. followed by the boys contest. WJLE will have LIVE coverage. The games were originally scheduled for Friday night, January 10 but were moved up because of the threat of wintry weather on Friday.

In the girls game Tuesday night, Smith County opened up a 20 to 9 lead by the end of the 1st period and led 36 to 22 by halftime and 53 to 28 after the 3rd period enroute to a 60 to 45 win.

Chloe VanVranken scored 16 followed by Avery Agee with 12, Lillie Young 6, Allie Melton 5, Jordyn Agee 4, and Brooklyn Fuson with 2.

The Tigers and Owls played to a 13-13 tie by the end of the 1st period. Smith County led 22 to 19 at halftime but the game was tied at 28-28 at the close of the 3rd period. DC outscored the Owls in the 4th period and claimed a 50 to 43 victory.

Jordan Parker scored 19, Jon Hendrix 13, Dallas Kirby 10, Seth Fuson 5, Logan Duke 2, and Elliot Barnes 1.

January 7, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Financially Strong!

Although the City of Smithville spent more than it took in due to onetime general fund expenditures for the year ended June 30, 2024, it remains on sound financial footing according to the latest audit report

John Poole, Hendersonville CPA, who performed the annual audit for the city, addressed the mayor and aldermen Monday night.

Poole said the audit showed no major deficiencies.

“In doing the state audit we are really trying to do three things,” said Poole. “One is to make sure we provide the state the financial information that they require in their oversight. Another thing we do that is most important to this board is to look to make sure the city is receiving the monies it should be getting whether that’s from the annual property tax, monthly utility billings, police fines, fees from the pool and golf course, etc. Also to make sure the city is getting the monies it is supposed to be getting from the state and from the county. Once we receive these monies, we are to make sure we are handling those monies in accordance with city policies and state guidelines,” explained Poole. “The city is also involved in several grant programs so we look to make sure that the grant monies we receive are handled correctly. I do believe the city is getting the money due it. Of course you will have some folks that are delinquent in payment of property taxes but the city does a good job of tracking that. It’s the same with utilities. We have some people who don’t pay from time to time but the utility department does a good job of monitoring them and making cutoffs when appropriate. As an auditor I really feel like the city is getting the monies it is supposed to be getting,” said Poole.

“The third thing we look at is making sure the monies this board authorizes the department heads to spend is done for city business and that they are following purchasing guidelines, procedures, and the way grant funds are spent. We didn’t find anything to cause a concern as to how the monies are being spent. In our opinion as auditors, we didn’t see anything that gave us any concern,” said Poole.

According to Poole, the water and sewer fund showed a surplus for the year which meets the state’s requirement that the utility be financially self-supporting.

“The change in net position for the year is $536,142 related to water and sewer (not counting grants) so we had a surplus and you certainly met the state’s threshold. When it comes to the utility fund (water & sewer) we are required by state law to show a profit. The city can’t lose money two years in a row. That is not a concern in Smithville. From a financial standpoint your utility system is in good shape,” said Poole.

As for the general fund, Poole said the net change in position showed expenditures exceeding revenues by $722,264 for the year due primarily to large one time capital outlay investments including new emergency communication radio systems for the police and fire departments along with installation of a new irrigation system at the golf course, major swimming pool repairs, as well as replacement of the Dry Creek Bridge and paving projects. Unlike the water and sewer fund, Poole said the general fund does not have to show a profit at year’s end but in this case, the city had ample funds to cover the overage. “If you hadn’t had those significant expenditures, there would have been a huge surplus but those are things we will not be doing every year,” said Poole.

As for the financial strength of the city, Poole explained that in the checking and savings accounts the city has in the general fund $5 million and CDs of over $528,000 which totals more than $5.5 million,” he said.

In the water and sewer fund, Poole said the city has a total of $6.5 million including almost $700,000 in certificates of deposit.

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