Liberty Man Spotted Driving Stolen Vehicle

July 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Liberty man was arrested last week after he was spotted driving a stolen vehicle.

34-year-old Dustin Kane Underhill of Tubb Street, Liberty is charged with theft of property. He is under a $50,000 bond and his court date is August 15.

Chief Deputy Brian Williams of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department said that on July 25 Underhill allegedly stole a 2016 Ford F150 4×4 valued at $37,000 from a driveway on Groom Street, Liberty. Criminal investigators spotted the stolen vehicle traveling on North Congress Boulevard in Smithville and pulled it over. Underhill, the driver, was placed in custody.

Meanwhile another man charged with stealing two batteries and a passing a forged check will be in court August 7.

27-year-old Tyler Michael Boyer of Whorton Springs Road, Smithville is under a total bond of $5,500 on charges of forgery and theft of property.

Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 23 Boyer was found in possession of two Dewalt 20-volt batteries with the initials LWB engraved on the bottom belonging to the victim. The batteries were valued at $102. 50. Two days later on July 25, Boyer allegedly committed forgery by writing and cashing a check in the amount of $705. The case was investigated by sheriff’s department detectives.

45-year-old Marcelo Cruz Gomez of Page Drive, Smithville is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and driving on a revoked /suspended license. His total bond is $32,000 and he will make a court appearance on August 15.

Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 25 Gomez pulled a Jennings 9-millimeter gun and placed it to the back left side of the victim’s head causing him to fear imminent bodily injury. Another victim, a woman also feared for her life.

20-year-old Bryan Scott Woodard of McMinnville is charged with driving without a license, possession of a handgun while under the influence, and underage driving while impaired. His bond is $7,500 and he will be in court August 15.

Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 25 a deputy was traveling west on Midway Road when he spotted a black Chevy Camaro leave its lane of travel several times. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Woodard who smelled of alcohol and had red, watery eyes, slurred speech, and he was unsteady on his feet. Woodard admitted to having consumed alcoholic beverages and smoking marijuana prior to driving. He refused to submit to field sobriety tasks. The deputy also spotted in plain sight a Rohm RG10 22 caliber revolver on the front seat.

58-year-old Edward Dale Caldwell of Cookeville Highway is charged with driving on a revoked/suspended license. He is under a $1,500 bond and his court date is August 15.

Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 27 a deputy was traveling Cookeville Highway when a red Chevy Silverado swerved into his lane of travel near Poplar Street almost causing a crash. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Caldwell who said he was turning into the parking lot of Glassworks and did not see the patrol car. A background check revealed that Caldwell’s driver license was revoked due to a DUI.

41-year-old Carlos Edward Lopez Stiff of Nashville Highway, Dowelltown is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $15,000 and he will make a court appearance on August 8. Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 27 Stiff allegedly struck his wife in the face causing injury. He also allegedly tried to strangle her.

32-year-old Hope Leigh Lachenauer of East Bryant Street, Smithville is charged with aggravated assault. She is under a $6,500 bond and her court date is August 8. Chief Deputy Williams said that on July 27 Lachenauer allegedly hit a family member in the head with a metal water can causing injury during an argument.

July 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Two DeKalb County Schools were briefly on lock down Monday but there was nothing to be alarmed about. No students were there, and it was only a drill!

Members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Smithville Police Department, and Special Agent Jimmy Puckett of the Tennessee Department of Safety Homeland Security conducted the lock down exercises at Smithville Elementary School and Northside Elementary School to make sure all interior doors were secured and teachers on site were safe.

The DeKalb County School District, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, conduct these safety protocols periodically at the schools to prepare for any possible future outside threat.

It’s called “Intruder drills” and it is something the state requires local districts to conduct at least once a year.  Similar drills will be held in the coming days at DCHS, DeKalb Middle School, and DeKalb West School and in some cases, students will be present when the lock down exercises are conducted. The Alexandria Police Department is expected to participate with the sheriff’s department at DeKalb West School.

“These drills are among the state mandated trainings we have to conduct for safety,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps. “We call it our lock down drill. It’s an opportunity for officers within the city and county to walk through our school buildings to make sure teachers are inside their locked down areas. These drills are important for us to prepare should anything unexpected ever happen. The drills today were done without students here, but we plan to do some next week with students in the building,” said Director Cripps.

According to Joey Reeder, safety director for the DeKalb County School District, the school conducting the “intruder drill” is locked down and local law enforcement officers are called upon to make a walkthrough of the school to make sure all doors are locked. That means greater fortification of schools to make it more difficult for an intruder to enter them.

“Basically, an intruder drill is where our entire school building is locked down and wherever you are at you get in the closest room,” Reeder explained. “If it happens during a normal school day when kids are in class, we lock the doors, get the kids away from the windows and doors, and try to be as quiet as we can. It’s sad we are at this place in the world that we have to keep our doors locked at all times but under state law all exterior doors have to be locked and we encourage teachers to keep the interior doors locked also. It causes some aggravation but its another layer of safety. That’s what we are about is trying to keep as many kids, faculty, and staff as safe as we can.”

The intruder drills serve a twofold purpose, according to Reeder, by putting into practice the school safety protocols and by making local law enforcement officers more familiar with the layout of the schools and they are welcome to stop in anytime.

“Our feeling on these drills is that not only does it help our schools but it’s a great deal of help to our law enforcement. Anytime we can get law enforcement in our buildings, walking around we believe that is a good thing and they are more than welcome to come. I don’t care what department they are with, Smithville, Alexandria, Sheriff’s Department, they are welcome in any of our buildings at any time,” said Reeder. “We have a lot of officers who just stop and walk through the building, and we appreciate that. Anytime you go by and see a police car outside a school, we believe it serves as somewhat of a deterrent. Fortunately for years we have always had a tremendous relationship with all the law enforcement agencies, and you can tell that by the crowd of them we had here today,” Reeder said.

July 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A new state law has taken effect which requires school districts to post notices on school buses warning that unauthorized persons may not board.

The law further requires the training standards for school bus drivers established by the state departments of education and safety to include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses; and requires student transportation management training for transportation supervisors appointed by local LEAs, charter schools, and charter management organizations to include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses.

“No one is allowed on a school bus unless authorized by law enforcement or faculty of the school, “said Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins.

“For example, if a bus is in an accident where the kids have to stay on the bus until law enforcement arrives, a parent cannot get on the bus to remove their child. The new law is intended to keep our kids safe,” said Chief Collins.

The law as adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by the governor is as follows:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2008, is amended by adding the following as a new subsection:

( ) In order to maintain safety on school buses, each LEA shall post a notice in a conspicuous place on each school bus in operation by the LEA to notify others that no person shall enter onto school buses except for those authorized pursuant to subsection

(a). The notice must include appropriate contact information in case of an issue on the school bus.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2107(g), is amended by adding “procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses pursuant to § 49-6-2008,” after “mirror usage,”.

SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2116(b), is amended by adding the following to the end of the subsection:

The annual training and management training program must include procedures concerning persons improperly on school buses pursuant to § 49-6-2008.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it.

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