Man Charged with Rape of a Child

December 12, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

A 23 year old Smithville man charged with the rape of a child will make a court appearance next month.

Ruben Alavez Mejia is under a $125,000 bond. He was arrested on Thursday, December 6 at 703 Snow Street by Smithville Police. He is accused of having sex with a 12 year old girl on several occasions from the time she was 11 years old. His court date is January 10.

Mejia also ran afoul of the law on August 27 when he was cited by Smithville Police for driving under the influence, no driver license, failure to exercise due care, and violation of financial responsibility. Police responded to the bridge at the intersection of Broad and South Mountain Street where Mejia had crashed his vehicle head on into the bridge.  Mejia was passed out at the scene. After being awakened, Mejia was unable to stand on his own. His eyes were blood shot and he had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. He was transported to the emergency room of the hospital.

December 11, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

A DeKalb County man who allegedly tried to stab his wife to death before leaving her by the side of the road in the Ragland Bottom area last year will stand trial next spring.

30 year old Andrew Lafate Billings is under indictment for the attempted first degree murder of 20 year old Adriana Billings. He made a brief appearance in DeKalb County Criminal Court Tuesday before Judge David Patterson.

The jury trial has been set for April 2 & 3.

The Grand Jury indicted Billings for the crime in November, 2017. The stabbing occurred on April 4, 2017

The warrant taken against Billings at the time of the stabbing stated that “on the 4th of April, 2017, Andrew Lafate Billings did intentionally and knowingly stab his wife, Adriana Nichole Billings numerous times about the upper body. Billings did commit this act with premeditation with the intent to kill Adriana Billings. Adriana was taken by helicopter with life threatening injuries. This offense did occur in DeKalb County”.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said at the time that the victim was found Tuesday morning, April 4, 2017 on Allen Ferry Road off Backbone Ridge Road in DeKalb County.

“At 9:06 a.m. a call came in to dispatch from someone who found a woman on the side of the road bleeding from the throat and said she appeared to have been stabbed.”

“Officers arrived ten minutes later and found the woman lying in a ditch with knife wounds to the neck, face, and hands. The victim was seen by EMS and then airlifted by helicopter. She suffered life threatening injuries,” said Sheriff Ray.

“While doing inventory at the scene, detectives developed Andrew Billings as a suspect and were able to obtain a vehicle description. A BOLO (Be on the lookout) was sent to surrounding counties.”

“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney General’s Office were summoned to the scene by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.”

“White County authorities later received a domestic call in their county and learned that Andrew Billings had gotten into an argument with a family member. A White County detective spotted the vehicle Billings was driving and did a traffic stop at 11:19 a.m.”

“A search warrant was later obtained and executed on the vehicle Billings was driving and officers found blood and a bloody knife with hair on it inside the automobile. Billings was found to have cuts to his hands,” Sheriff Ray continued.

Billings was taken into custody. He was booked in DeKalb County on the attempted first degree murder charge but at that time was being held in White County on a failure to appear in court charge there. DeKalb County had a hold on him after he faced his White County offense.

Andrew and Adriana Billings first made news in November, 2016 when they fled to Michigan with their 8 month old child during a wreck investigation in which a meth lab was found in their vehicle prompting a TBI Endangered Child Alert. For that incident, Andrew Billings was also indicted in November 2017 for aggravated child abuse and initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Although charged with Andrew at the time in the meth and child abuse case, Adriana was not indicted by the Grand Jury in November, 2017.

That case remains pending in court.

The indictment against Andrew in that incident alleges that “on or about the 10th day of November, 2016 Billings did unlawfully and knowingly initiate a process intended to result in the manufacture of any amount of methamphetamine and that he did unlawfully and knowingly expose Xavier Billings, a child under the age of 8 to the initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine”.

Sheriff Ray said that “On Thursday November, 10th, 2016 the Tennessee Highway Patrol worked a two vehicle accident on Highway 70 east (Sparta Highway). After 3 occupants in one of the vehicles, including the child, had been examined by EMS, the adults fled the scene with the child. During the inventory of the vehicle, the Trooper found what he believed to be a methamphetamine lab. The Trooper took criminal warrants in the case on both of the adults for manufacturing meth and aggravated child abuse”.

After the accident, the Trooper obtained information that the child might have had a medical condition and notified the Department of Children Services.

Sheriff Ray said that at 11:19 p.m. Wednesday night, November 16, 2016 the Department of Children Services came to his office and filed a missing/endangered child report. The Sheriff said his department immediately entered the child into the National Crime Information System which prompted the TBI Endangered Child Alert System.

The Billings’ were found with the child at a residence in Flint, Michigan on Friday, November 18, 2016. They were arrested by the City of Flint Police Department and Xavier was placed in protective custody by the Michigan Department of Children Services.

The warrants against the Billings’ taken at the time alleged that on November 10, 2016 Trooper Sean Tramel of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was working an accident on Sparta Highway and found that Andrew and Adriana Billings knowingly initiated the process of manufacturing methamphetamine inside of their white Nissan Sentra which was involved in the accident while their 8 month old son was present in the vehicle.

While doing a post crash inventory of the car, Trooper Tramel discovered a meth lab in a black nylon bag and in a 40 millimeter ammo can in the back seat. Items discovered were a Visine bottle containing muriatic acid, spa test strips, an open container of Drano, four bottles including three with residue and one with sediment, a quart Mason jar with a clear liquid believed to be Coleman fuel and methamphetamine mix which field tested positive for meth.

December 11, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Former Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss and his son Tony have decided to take their cases of official misconduct and theft over $2,500 to trial rather than accept a plea deal with prosecutors.

Both made a brief appearance Tuesday in DeKalb County Criminal Court before Judge David Patterson.

The jury trial is scheduled for July 23 and 24, 2019. Both Jimmy and Tony remain on bond. Jimmy is represented by attorney Brandon Bellar of Carthage. Tony’s lawyer is Jamie Winkler of Carthage

The charges stem from a move by the former mayor to put his son on the city payroll last fall without the approval of the aldermen.

In July the DeKalb County Grand Jury returned a sealed indictment against former Mayor Poss for Official Misconduct and Theft of Property over $2,500. Tony Poss was also named in the sealed indictment for Theft of Property over $2,500.

The following month, Jimmy Poss lost his re-election bid for mayor.

The first count of the indictment alleged that “between the dates of September 1, 2017 and March 2, 2018 Jimmy Wayne Poss did unlawfully and knowingly, while acting as a public servant, commit an offense with intent to obtain a benefit by authorizing the unlawful payment of wages to Anthony Wayne Poss in violation of (state law).”

The second count of the indictment alleged that “between the dates of September 1, 2017 and March 2, 2018 Jimmy Wayne Poss and Anthony Wayne Poss did unlawfully and knowingly obtain or exercise control over property, including but not limited to: cash valued at over $2,500, belonging to the City of Smithville with the intent to deprive the owner thereof and without the owner’s effective consent, in violation of (state law)”.

The cases were presented to the grand jury by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who began a probe after the issue surfaced in March.

Last September, Tony Poss was put on the city payroll to work at the golf course and swimming pool but the aldermen said Mayor Poss violated the city’s hiring and nepotism policies in hiring Tony without their approval.

City records show that from September 1, 2017 to March 2, 2018 Tony earned $300 per week (gross) for a total of $8,100. When the issue came to light on March 5, Tony’s employment with the city ended.

Although Tony was supposedly hired to mow the grass at the golf course, Mayor Poss admitted at the March 5 city council meeting that he (Tony) actually did other things.

“We had a problem and what he (Tony) has done, he has taken care of that golf course with what Riverwatch wasn’t doing. He (Tony) has protected us from freezing up. The pool was running low with no water being put in it. It wasn’t being maintained by the city and that wasn’t Ken’s deal (Ken Lacy of Riverwatch). This is what Tony did. He took care of the city’s property. Now it wasn’t mowing. That’s an error there,” explained Mayor Poss.

The aldermen were not satisfied with the mayor’s explanation and questioned whether Tony actually did any work to earn his salary.

Later during a special meeting in March, the aldermen formally censured the mayor for his actions. The move was basically a reprimand or expression of disapproval. The vote was 5-0.

In a separate move the aldermen considered asking the mayor to reimburse the city for the salary paid to Tony during the six month period he was a part time employee but voted 3 to 2 against it. Aldermen Gayla Hendrix and Shawn Jacobs voted in favor but Aldermen Jason Murphy, Josh Miller, and Danny Washer voted no. Had it been approved, the aldermen admitted that a reimbursement request probably could not have been enforced.

Prior to the censure vote, Vice Mayor Jason Murphy, who presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Poss, recognized City Attorney Vester Parsley who read a prepared statement from the mayor explaining his actions in putting Tony to work at the golf course and swimming pool during the fall and winter.

“My hiring of my son to maintain the pool and equipment at the golf course has become an issue because of our charter and city ordinances. I want the council and the public to understand that my only goal was to safeguard and maintain the equipment located at the golf course. I want to assure you that it wasn’t a waste of the city’s funds because the equipment must be maintained and my son was the most logical choice. In hindsight, his hiring without council approving may have been a mistake. I have, however, hired other part time employees without the approval of the council in the past and at the time felt it was not necessary to seek the council’s approval,” wrote Mayor Poss.

Tony Poss had a ten year lease of the city’s golf course and swimming pool but he surrendered his lease of the facilities in August, 2017. The following month, the city entered into a one year contract with Riverwatch Golf & Resort to upgrade and maintain the golf course at a cost to the city of $74,115. It was also in September that Tony Poss became a part time city employee.

“We hired Riverwatch to repair and maintain the golf course at a substantial amount of money. Tony Poss had terminated his lease with the city. I don’t think his services were needed and we have no proof that anything had actually been done (by Tony) to earn the money that was paid out,” said Alderman Hendrix prior to the censure vote in March.

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