Williams Enters Plea to Arson

October 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A man believed to be responsible for setting fire to two vehicles and a house in January 2021 appeared for sentencing last week in DeKalb County Criminal Court.

Judge Gary McKenzie presided.

22-year-old Jacob Clinton Williams entered a plea on Tuesday, October 18 to one count of arson and received a sentence of four years all suspended to supervised probation. The term is to run concurrently with a Rutherford County sentence against him. He was given jail credit for 66 days.

The crimes occurred on January 16, 2021 and were investigated by the Smithville Police Department.

“We responded to a call of a car fire at a residence on South College Street,” said Detective Brandon Donnell. “The police and fire departments showed up but the fire was already put out. Only the tire was on fire. About 30 minutes later we got a call of a house fire on Jennings Lane. By the time they (police and fire) got there it (house) was fully engulfed. Police realized that the car which was on fire on South College Street was registered to the same man who rented the house on Jennings Lane. By the time I was called to the scene another car at the same house on South College Street was lit on fire. They (fire department) arrived and got that put out,” Detective Donnell explained.

The following day, Williams became a person of interest to police after his girlfriend came forward with a tip.

“I got a phone call the next day from a woman who said her boyfriend, Williams suspected that she may have been seeing the man who lived in the house and owned one of the cars that caught fire. I went to neighbors and viewed video from their security cameras the night of the crimes which showed Williams’ car leaving the fires,” said Detective Donnell.

Police later learned that while on his way back to Cookeville where he lived, Williams almost hit a car head on while traveling Cookeville Highway. “The driver of the car he almost struck turned around and followed Williams to the Dollar General Store near the Interstate and saw him throw something out the window. The next day we (police) went to that location and found a jug of gasoline that we believe he threw out,” Detective Donnell continued.

A few days later police discovered that Williams had already been picked up and was in jail at Putnam County for unrelated offenses. “We went there to talk with him but he would not cooperate,” said Detective Donnell. We then went to his mother’s house and found Williams’ car, which was the same one observed on video leaving the fires the night of the crimes. We took a warrant against him which was served upon his release from custody in Putnam County,” added Detective Donnell.

October 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

An argument between two women recently resulted in a knife assault.

25-year-old Megan Lynn Warden was arrested by Smithville Police for aggravated assault on October 13. According to police, Warden and the victim got into an argument behind the residence of 624 Highland Street and during the confrontation, Warden pulled out a knife and cut the victim on her face and jawline. Bond for Warden is $5,000 and her court date is October 27.

53-year-old Burnette Bernie Jones of 600 East Broad Street, Smithville is charged with violation of an order of protection. He is under a $20,000 bond and will make a court appearance on October 27. The complaint states that “on October 2 at about 1:45 p.m. Jones did go to the hotel room of the protected party and beat his fist on her door yelling and placing her in fear. There were several witnesses to this incident. Furthermore, Jones also had several incidents of indirect communication with this woman prior to this incident. Jones was arrested by Smithville Police and booked into the DeKalb County Jail for violation of an order of protection.

35-year-old Christopher Brock Tatrow was arrested on October 3 for public intoxication and assault. Police were summoned to Pedigo’s New and Used due to a possible assault. The officer found Tatrow, the suspect at the corner of South Mountain and West Broad Street with an open and half full 24-ounce Corona Extra. According to police, Tatrow was talking out of his head, not making any sense. Police learned that outside the store while the assault victim was looking at furniture, Tatrow aggressively came at the woman, grabbing her by the left arm on which she just had surgery, before calling her “baby “and then trying to grab her in the chest area. The victim pulled away and ran from the area. Tatrow’s bond is $5,000.

18-year-old Jeremiah Jason Mullins was cited on October 4 for vandalism. Mullins was spotted on video surveillance running away from a home on West Main Street after throwing a rock at a residence and breaking the glass storm door. His court date is November 10.

42-year-old Joseph Paul Deskins was arrested on October 6 for driving under the influence. After pulling over Deskins in a traffic stop for not maintaining his lane of travel, police noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person and when asked to step out of the vehicle, Deskins was unsteady on his feet. Deskins submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. His bond is $3,500 and he will appear in court October 27.

40-year-old Tolesha Alberta Slone was cited for assault on October 12. Police responded to an assault complaint at Smithville Market on West Broad Street and upon investigation learned that Slone had slapped and thrown gasoline on the victim. Her court date is November 3.

49-year-old Mariano Del Angle Reyes was arrested for driving under the influence on October 16 and he was cited for no driver license. Police were dispatched to a possible motor vehicle crash with injuries and upon arrival found a single vehicle on its side in the creek bed near the Smithville Church of God. Once the driver, identified as Reyes was finally out of the vehicle, the officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. A computer check revealed that Reyes is not a licensed driver. Bond for Reyes is $1,500 and his court date is November 3.

October 24, 2022
By: Bill Conger

The D.C.H.S. Band brought home some heavy metal with their 1980s themed “Blast From the Past (Back to the Future)” program this past weekend. The Fighting Tiger Marching Band placed first in its class for drum major [Serenity Burgess], first in its class for percussion, and first in its class for color guard Saturday (Oct. 22) at the Forrest Rocket Tournament of Bands in Chapel Hill. The band took second in its class and 13th out of 20 overall that including several much larger bands.

“They’ve been improving every week everything from the drum major, to the percussion to the band, and color guard,” Band Director Don Whitt said in an interview prior to the awards’ announcements. “Every time we turn around they’re asking, “How can we do better?” They had a really good attitude coming into this. That’s what I’m proud about. Number one, they’re excited about the state championships coming up in a couple of weeks. This competition is like the Golden Globes Awards before you go to the Oscars. Usually, if they do well here, they do well at the state championship. A lot of directors have been telling me about how well they thought the band has done [today], and I really value their opinions. All in all we did really well.”

Assistant Band Director/Percussion Instructor Erica Birmingham said the percussion section performed “absolutely wonderful.”

“I know there were a couple of hiccups here and there whenever the entire electronic system completely went kaput, but the percussion handled themselves very well accordingly. In fact, they improvised on the spot. Nobody knew that anything was going on wrong. They picked it up and listened and made sure everything was on top. I’m super proud of them and all their hard work they have put into this. They deserve this win.”

“The color guard continues to grow and improve as our season progresses,” Color Guard Coach Shannon Johns said. “They not only won best in class, but ranked 5th out of 20 guards overall! Also, several of the students helped write this show, so they have much to be proud of. I cannot wait to see them show off at the state competition in November.”

The band plays again at the high school’s Open House Thursday followed by Friday night’s last home football game. On November 5th, the marching ensemble journeys to Smyrna for the 41st Annual Tennessee Division II State Marching Band Championship.

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