Five Inmates Caught with Drugs in Jail

April 22, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The sheriff’s department has seen an increase lately of prisoners trying to sneak drugs into the jail.

Five inmates were caught within the last week and all of them have been charged with bringing contraband into a penal facility.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said 41 year old Amy Lynn Hall of Felts Road, Sparta, arrested Thursday, April 18 on a fugitive from justice warrant, was caught on a jail surveillance camera removing something from her body cavity and then flushing it down a toilet before putting something else back in her body. Before being moved to the main population cell, Hall was strip searched by a female correctional officer. The search turned up a glass pipe. Hall was charged with introduction of contraband and tampering with or fabricating evidence. Her bond totals $12,500 and she will make a court appearance on May 16.

In a separate case, 34 year old Michael Pieree Rose, another inmate at the jail, was found on April 20 with two white oxycodone pills. His bond is $7,500 and he will make a court appearance on May 9.

Meanwhile three other inmates, 33 year old Laura Beth Farris of Lebanon, 40 year old Sherry May Evans of Pea Ridge Road Liberty, and 47 year old Tammy Denise Currie of Toad Road were charged on Sunday April 21 after female correctional officers noticed suspicious activity in the women’s cell and began to investigate. During a strip search, Farris produced from her body cavity two plastic baggies, one containing a white powdery substance believed to be Neurotin. The other baggie held a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine.

The investigation revealed that Farris was trying to hide the drugs for Evans who had given her the Neurotin and Currie who had passed her the methamphetamine.

Farris, Evans, and Currie are each under a $7,500 bond and will make a court appearance on the charges May 2.

Sheriff Ray said recent busy court days when inmates are brought back and forth between the jail and the courthouse could be a reason for the uptick in this contraband activity.

“Our court officers do their best to secure the courthouse and keep it free of contraband but for the last three weeks there have been several days in which we have had up to three courts being conducted at the same time including two on the third floor with the General Sessions and Criminal Courts and another in the first floor courtroom. Under those circumstances it is hard to get inmates from the jail to the different courtrooms without them picking up things (contraband) left by others on the ground or courthouse stairwells,” he said.

Sheriff Ray said more manpower for his department could help address the issues.

“We are required to have two court officers per court and someone has to do the scanning (operate the courthouse metal detector). On very hectic court days we don’t have enough court officers so we have to use the chief deputy, detectives and other officers to come in and work courts.  We are hoping the county budget committee will recommend funding my request this year for extra officers and manpower to help keep this problem from happening,” he said.

“We work hard to keep things out of the jail especially drugs. From time to time we see inmates that are being booked into the jail come in with different kinds of medication or illegal substances in their body cavities as a means of trying to hide those drugs from the correctional officers in order to get them into their cell. When we find an inmate in possession of drugs in jail we arrest them again for that,” added Sheriff Ray.

April 22, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Marlene Delong, Community Representative for the American Cancer Society, will be the featured speaker at the annual Cancer Survivors and Caregivers Reception Dinner Thursday night, April 25 from 5-7 p.m. at the Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church Gym.

IMG_5172 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The event is sponsored by Dr. Timothy Tobitt of Good Health Family Clinic.

Delong, a cancer survivor herself, invites all cancer survivors to attend as she relates her personal story.

“I have worked with the American Cancer Society for many years and have always been on the side of the survivors and volunteers helping provide dinners and services but October 3, 2018 I had surgery for kidney cancer. I am now a cancer survivor and once you have been diagnosed as a survivor you see things from a different perspective,” she said.

If you think something might be wrong, Delong urges you to see a doctor because early detection is important. “Whether it’s a colonoscopy or mammogram please stay up to date with your screenings and blood work to keep yourself healthy. Ask your doctor about an ultrasound or whatever he or she would recommend if you feel something is not right with you because that is exactly how I found mine. I felt like there was something wrong and she (doctor) found it with an ultrasound,” said Delong.

Meanwhile plans are coming together for the 22nnd annual DeKalb County Relay for Life on Friday, May 10 starting with entertainment at 5 p.m. at Green Brook Park. The program begins at 6 p.m. The goal is to raise $50,000 for cancer research and patient services. Last year’s Relay generated $44,729.

For more information about leading a fundraising team, sponsorship, volunteering or participating in any way, call Ivadell Randolph at 615- 597-5296, Lynda Luna at 615- 597-5837, Renee Cantrell at 615-684-2688, Gail Taylor 615-597-5936, Melanie Judkins at 615-597-1132, Marlene Delong-931-235-6286 or Eva Willoughby at 615-529-1187.

April 22, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Chancery Court is being asked to intervene in a dispute between the county and a local homeowners association over the status of roads in the Hurricane Pointe Subdivision located off of Coconut Ridge Road.

The county contends that the roads in question are not “county roads” but the Hurricane Pointe Homeowners Association believes they do belong to the county and has filed a petition in Chancery Court seeking a declaratory judgment. The homeowners want the court to declare that these are public roads and that the county is responsible for maintaining them.

The lawsuit was filed in DeKalb County Chancery Court on March 18. The county has not yet filed an answer.

According to the homeowners group, the roads have fallen into a state of disrepair and now pose a danger to anyone who travels them. The specific roads in question are Williamson Circle, Davidson Road, Patrick Court, Mica Court, Maury Lane, Wilson Circle, and Rutherford Lane.

According to the petition, the developer of the subdivision was Waterfront Group Tennessee, LLC. and that on August 9, 2004 the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission approved a preliminary plat with 73 lots with an additional 95 lots in two other phases for the subdivision.  The first section was completed September 23, 2004; the second section October 25, 2004; and the third section  was finished May 26, 2005.

The homeowners group contends that the planning commission and the DeKalb County Road Supervisor at that time worked closely with the developer and continuously communicated with one another to insure that the roads were being constructed to the appropriate standards.

The petition further states that the county inspected the roads within the development and the preliminary plats of the subdivision were presented to the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission for approval. The plats were subsequently approved unanimously by the planning commission and recorded in the Register of Deeds Office.

The homeowners assert that the roads in the subdivision were approved by the county, that the bond posted by the Waterfront Group was released upon completion, inspection, and approval of the roads, that the county’s engineer visited the site on several occasions, and that the roads were later maintained under the supervision of DeKalb County.

According to the homeowners, the developer complied with every request or demand made in furtherance of having the roads within Hurricane Pointe Subdivision accepted by DeKalb County and that the developers’ bond was released by the planning commission evidencing that the roads had been completed to the county’s specifications and requirements.

As further evidence, the homeowners claim that the county previously spent tax dollars maintaining the roads using county road department employees, dump trucks and equipment to do asphalt and ditch work, and supplied stop signs; that the county refused to allow them (homeowners group) to place gates at the entrance of the subdivision; that the residents of the subdivision purchased their lots/homes with the understanding and belief that the roads were county roads; and that the residents and general public continue to use the roads.

The homeowners further assert that the roads are used by mail carriers, emergency vehicles, school buses, sheriff’s department patrols, and the public at large including to a cemetery within the subdivision.

Hurricane Pointe Homeowners Association is represented by the Law Offices of Moore Rader Fitzpatrick & York PC in Cookeville.

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