News
Three High Profile Criminal Cases Returning to Court this Fall
September 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Defendants convicted in three high profile cases will be back in court this fall. Two of them, 55 year old Gary Wayne Ponder and 31 year old Andrew Billings will be sentenced and the third, 28 year old Cody Ryan Key will be seeking post conviction relief.
Ponder was convicted in July for setting fire in a courthouse vestibule recycling bin on June 14, 2016 causing more than $100,000 in damage to the building.
After hearing several hours of testimony, it took a jury, made up of six men and six women, less than half an hour to deliver it’s verdict. Guilty as charged for aggravated arson.
The range of punishment for this Class-A felony offense is from 15-25 years.
Ponder had been scheduled for sentencing Friday, September 20 but the hearing has been reset for December 10th.
Billings’ sentencing hearing has also been rescheduled for December 10th. It had been set for Friday, September 20.
He was convicted as charged of attempted first degree murder in a 2017 knife attack on his wife Adriana. The trial was held in August and it took only 25 minutes for a jury panel of 7 men and 5 women to find him guilty. Along with the verdict, the jury also assessed a $50,000 fine..
As an A felony the range of punishment for this offense is from 15-25 years.
Key is serving a 45 year prison sentence for second degree murder in the death of his girlfriend’s 23 month old son Colten Alexander May on May 17, 2015.
Key is seeking a modification of his sentence in a post conviction relief petition and the hearing, set for Friday, September 20, has been rescheduled for November 1.
Meanwhile the child’s mother, 23 year old Jessica Ashley May, serving an eight year sentence for attempted aggravated child neglect stemming from the fatal beating of her son by Key is reportedly out of prison after completing her term. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction website, May’s sentence expired July 23, 2019.
May entered a plea to attempted aggravated child neglect, a Class B felony in December, 2016 and received an eight year sentence as a range I mitigated offender to serve at least 20% before parole eligibility. She had already served 568 days by that time since her arrest on May 19, 2015.
Law enforcement officers concluded that while Key was the one who had actually severely beaten the child May knew the abuse had taken place and didn’t try to stop it.
Tigers Shine in 49-12 Thumping of Grundy County
September 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Freshman running back Colby Barnes scored three touchdowns in his high school debut and quarterback Axel Aldino threw for three TD’s in DeKalb County’s 49-12 swatting of the Grundy County Yellow Jackets in Smithville Friday night.
DC’s Nathaniel Crook also scored a touchdown while Desmond Nokes snagged two touchdown passes and Alan Munoz caught one TD pass for the Tigers.
With the win DeKalb County improves to 2-3 on the season while Grundy County falls to 0-4.
The Yellow Jackets got on the scoreboard first completing a 36 yard drive on a Koby Michael 3 yard touchdown run. The Tigers thwarted a 2 point conversion try but Grundy County led 6-0 with 4:46 left in the 1st period.
DC answered on a 62 yard drive with freshman Colby Barnes scoring his first high school touchdown on a 7 yard run with 2:01 left in the 1st period. Alan Munoz tacked on the extra point and the Tigers took the lead 7-6.
DeKalb County extended its lead with 8:53 left in the 2nd period on an 8 yard touchdown run by Nathaniel Crook. The PAT by Munoz put the Tigers out front 14-6.
Barnes scored his second touchdown of the game on a 42 yard scamper with 2:12 left in the half. Munoz split the uprights for the extra point and the Tigers owned a 21-6 lead.
DeKalb County went to the air for the next score as quarterback Axel Aldino found Alan Munoz on an 11 yard touchdown strike. Munoz added the extra point and DeKalb County led 28-6 by halftime.
Grundy County cut into the Tiger lead on a 16 yard touchdown pass from Jacob Dixon to Evan Nunley completing a 74 yard drive. The try for the extra point was no good but the DC lead was trimmed to 28-12 with 2:15 left in the 3rd period.
DeKalb County struck back on a 61 yard touchdown pass play from Aldino to Desmond Nokes. Munoz converted the PAT and the Tigers led 35 to 12 with 1:05 left in the 3rd period.
Colby Barnes got this third touchdown of the game on a 5 yard run with 7:27 to go in the 4th period. The PAT by Munoz was good and DeKalb County held a 42-12 advantage.
The final score of the night came on a 16 yard touchdown pass from Aldino to Nokes with 6:15 left in the game set up after an interception by Tiger Isaac Knowles. Munoz added the extra point and the Tigers went on to win 49-12.
DeKalb County will host Cannon County next Friday night, September 27 for homecoming. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE coverage.
DCHS Tigers Hoping to Bounce Back Tonight Against Grundy County (Listen to WJLE’s Tiger Talk Here)
September 20, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The DCHS Tigers will be hoping to get back in the win column tonight (Friday) as they play host to the visiting Grundy County Yellow Jackets.
Kick-off is at 7 p.m. and WJLE will have LIVE coverage on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby.
(Clicks link below to hear this week’s Tiger Talk show and all previous programs this season)
Coach Steve Trapp, speaking on WJLE’s Tiger Talk program, said last week’s lost at Watertown was a disappointment but he is confident his team will bounce back
“Watertown is a good team. For the last couple of years they have been a solid program with a lot of great athletes. I thought we started off doing some good things, especially getting a turnover right off the bat but we lost our mental edge. The bottom line is if we can’t put a product on the field that will be consistent play in and play out doing the correct things then we are going to have a tough Friday night. That one was hard to coach through. It was hard to watch the film but we have addressed what he did and didn’t like and I am fully expecting this team to come out here tonight and give us a good response,” said Coach Trapp
Grundy County is 0-3 with losses to South Pittsburg 55-0, York Institute 48-14, and Bledsoe County 14-12
The Tigers are 1-3 with losses to Warren County 35 to 21, Upperman 35 to 0, and Watertown 42-20 and the win over Stone Memorial 33-0.
WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with former coach Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football. The show repeats this Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m.
“Coach to Coach” is followed by “Murphy’s Matchups at 6:00 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches interviews.
“Tiger Talk” airs at 6:30 p.m. with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor interviewing Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football players Noah Roberts, Raiden Martin, and Holden Hendrix.
The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. with play by play coverage on WJLE.
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