Wright gets Five Year Sentence for Burglaries

January 19, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A Dowelltown man, who eluded a deputy during a pursuit last April and then got into more trouble with the law after he broke into the Dry Creek Baptist Church and stole a 2002 Chevy church van appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court Wednesday, January 18.

41-year-old Kenneth Adam Wright of Vandergriff Hollow Road, Dowelltown entered a plea to charges of aggravated burglary, burglary, and auto burglary. He received a total sentence of five years. A restitution amount is to be determined. Wright was given jail credit of 450 days. His actual sentences for each offense are five years for the aggravated burglary, four years for the burglary, and two years for auto burglary to run concurrently as one five-year term.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said the story began Sunday night, April 3, 2022 when a deputy spotted a man, who he thought to be Wright, at DeKalb Market. Store video surveillance later confirmed that the man was Wright. Knowing that Wright had active warrants against him for failure to appear and was to be held without bond, the officer drove into the parking lot of DeKalb Market to speak to Wright but he jumped in his vehicle and fled. The deputy then activated his blue lights and sirens and began a pursuit of Wright’s vehicle on Nashville Highway which reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour with Wright, at times, traveling on the wrong side of the highway almost hitting several oncoming automobiles. Wright stopped at Wilder Hollow in Dowelltown before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot.

On Wednesday, April 6, 2022 someone from the Dry Creek Baptist Church on Dry Creek Road near Dowelltown discovered that the church van was missing and that the church building itself had been broken into and vandalized. It appeared someone had entered the building through the return to the central heat and air unit. Sheriff Ray said investigators believe the break-in and theft had actually occurred sometime on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

Three hours after the church burglary and theft were reported Wednesday, April 6 at 2:36 p.m. an Alexandria Police officer, having heard about it, spotted a van behind a church in Alexandria, which turned out to be the one stolen from Dry Creek Baptist Church. Two detectives from the sheriff’s department responded and upon arrival saw someone fitting Wright’s description. As the detectives approached, the man tried to flee on foot but they caught up and placed him in custody. The man was Wright.

Sheriff Ray said Wright admitted to stealing the church van, valued at $8,500 and breaking into the church and vandalizing the heating and air system causing over $1,000 in damage.

In the aggravated burglary case, Wright was a co-defendant with three others charged with breaking into a Liberty home in May, 2020.

Sheriff Ray said deputies responded to a complaint of a prowler around a residence on Old Highway 53 in Liberty and discovered the burglary upon arrival. Detectives were notified and started an investigation which revealed that the foursome had broken into the residence twice on May 29, 2020 and stole several items with a total value of $7,395 including an Xbox 360, large red craftsman tool box, record player, paint rollers, 2 trail cameras, plastic tool box, a jump box, samurai katana, DVDs, tea set, hunting blind, Holy Bible vinyl record, shop vac, solar battery charger, antique oil lamp, pots and other miscellaneous items.

January 19, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

If the outcome of Wednesday’s parole hearing is any indication, 47-year-old Archie Lee Roberts, serving a life prison sentence in a 1993 DeKalb County murder case, may not be a free man for at least four more years.

Roberts, age 17 at the time, shot and killed 18-year-old Eric D. Graham and seriously wounded another teen, 17-year-old Shane Orlando in a knife attack on April 28, 1993 in DeKalb County. All three had been friends and were students at DeKalb County High School. The incident occurred in front of Roberts’ home on Bright Hill Road after the three had been out riding around and drinking together before an argument ensued which escalated resulting in the violent attacks.

At the conclusion of the session Wednesday, Mae Beavers, a Parole Board member who presided over the hearing, cast her vote to decline parole for Roberts due to the seriousness of the offense and recommended a parole hearing review in four years (January 2027). As part of her vote, she recommended Mr. Roberts (1) complete programming as recommended by a risk and needs assessment designed to assess offenders’ needs and predict recidivism and (2) maintain positive institutional behavior to improve his chances of receiving parole at his next hearing, according to Dustin Krugel, Communications Director for the Tennessee Board of Parole.

A final decision is anticipated within perhaps a couple of weeks or sooner. “The file will go to other parole board members who will independently review and vote until there are enough concurring votes to reach a final decision. In Roberts’ case, there needs to be four concurring votes by board members before a final decision is reached. Generally, it takes approximately a couple of weeks to finalize,” said Krugel.

(Click Link Below to View Parole Hearing)

Roberts has served almost 30 years for first degree murder and attempted murder and is incarcerated at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Whiteville, Tennessee. Roberts appeared at the parole hearing, the first since his conviction, from the prison via video conference. Parole Board member Beavers was on the video conference from a different location as were the mother and sister of Graham, the murdered victim. and District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway who spoke in opposition to Roberts’ petition for parole. Although letters of support were in his file, no one appeared at the hearing to speak for Roberts. He told Parole Board member Beavers that members of his family lived too far away to participate. Opposition letters were also in the file. Neither Orlando nor anyone on his behalf appeared during the parole hearing Wednesday.

A year after the crimes, Roberts was convicted by a DeKalb County Criminal Court jury of first-degree murder in the death of Graham for which he received a life prison sentence; attempted first degree murder in the knife attack on Orlando, for which Roberts was given a 20-year sentence. Both sentences were ordered to be served consecutively (back-to-back). Roberts later escaped from the DeKalb County Jail but was captured. He was subsequently charged with felony escape for which he received a one-year sentence to run consecutively with the other terms. Roberts completed his 20-year sentence on November 27, 2022, and is to finish his sentence for the escape on March 16, 2023. The life sentence remains.

Appearing at the parole hearing from Cookeville Wednesday, District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway appealed to the parole board to deny Roberts’ petition for early release.

“I am here to speak in opposition to the early release of Archie Roberts. This is a situation where it’s a very violent crime. We had two victims in this case, and I am here to speak for them. The first is Eric D. Graham. He was 18 years old at the time. He was killed by a gunshot wound. Two shots including one to the head and one to another part of the body which killed him. Graham lost his life in 1993. He is not eligible for parole or relief. Neither is his family. He was given a death sentence in 1993 by the decision of Archie Roberts. Shane Orlando was also a victim who thankfully survived. He was stabbed by Archie Roberts with a four-inch hunting knife and as a result of those acts by Archie Roberts, he was convicted by a jury of his peers and received two sentences. One was a life sentence for taking the life of Eric Graham, and the other one was a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of Shane Orlando. The criminal court judgments reflected that those sentences are to be served consecutive to each other and Mr. Roberts has served just 28 years. This was a very violent unprovoked, unexplainable, senseless, very preventable crime that Mr. Roberts chose, and it affected the Graham and Orlando families immensely and continue to do so today. Because of the seriousness of the offense and the violence inflicted, my office stands in opposition to the early release of Mr. Roberts,” said District Attorney General Dunaway.

According to his prison record, Roberts has had a total of 13 write-ups for various infractions ranging from possession of contraband to failing to submit to a drug screen among others, but none have been noted since 2011. Roberts admitted Wednesday that he was once a member of the Crips prison gang but that he disassociated with them after completing the prison’s Security Threat Group Program. His current custody level is minimum restricted. During his time in prison, Roberts has held several jobs including stock clerk, painter, baker, cook, kitchen helper, custodian, and general office work among others. Over the years, Roberts has also earned a GED while in prison, and participated in several other educational and instructional programs. If paroled, Roberts said he planned to reside in Somerville, Tennessee and work for a trucking company in Memphis.

Roberts recounted for Parole Board member Beavers the events that occurred the night of the shooting and stabbing.

“Me and my friends were out riding around drinking and at the end of the night they took me home. Me and Mr. Orlando had an altercation. At the end of that altercation, I took a knife and stabbed him (Orlando). After that I went back in (my home) and got a gun and shot Mr. Graham when he pulled back up into the driveway. That’s what happened,” said Roberts.

During the hearing, Graham’s mother Sharon George gave an emotional plea for the parole board to deny Roberts an early release. George said she has found it difficult to forgive Roberts because of his lack of remorse.

“The reason I am here is to seek justice for my son,” said Ms. George. “His life is worth much more than 30 years. Second, I am a Christian and I know I have to forgive him (Roberts) at some point. Archie has condemned me and my family to a life sentence here on earth, but I will not let him condemn me to eternity. As part of my forgiveness, I have to pray for salvation and his salvation too, however he has to show me some remorse. I can’t do it without it. I am sure these 30 years have been hard on him, but it was his choice for these crimes. Its been so hard on us too. I have one grandchild who was two months old when this happened. He never got to know his uncle. He (Roberts) took away any future grandchildren, weddings, birthdays, Christmas’, and just being able to enjoy a family meal. Always there is an empty seat. On June 13, 2016, I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. I was life flighted to Vanderbilt and given less than a 15% chance of survival. I made it and everyone told me God wasn’t finished with me, but I wasn’t finished with Him (God). I had not gotten the hatred out of my heart and God gave me a second chance. I have to forgive Archie, but I need him to ask for forgiveness. I am praying for your (Roberts) soul because if you think your life has been hard so far you don’t know nothing as to what eternity is going to bring to you. I wish you would acknowledge your guilt and ask the Lord to forgive you,” said Ms. George.

Quoting scripture from Matthew 18:15, Ms. George said “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother”. Ephesians 4:29 says “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. Be ye kind one to another”. “I hope someday this happens but as of right now, please don’t let him out, please,” concluded Ms. George.

Graham’s sister, Anna Jones also appealed to the parole board to keep Roberts in prison.

“I am supposed to tell you how this has impacted my life. I begin with the fact that I had a two-month-old child at the time this happened. I didn’t have time to grieve the loss of my brother. I had to take care of my child and put him first and not myself. I would look at my child and question my faith in God. How could He give such a precious gift and take Eric away from us? I would look at my mother and feel guilty that I had a newborn son and hers was taken away from her. I have watched my mother function for the last 30 years. Her heart beats. She is physically alive, but she is dead inside. She grieves everyday of her life. I am sure no one would want to walk in those shoes, and no one should have to worry about walking in those shoes. In the past 30 years I have thought about this day (parole hearing) many times and I hoped it would never come about but I knew it would. Our family should not have to relive this. We are sentenced to death inside for the rest of our lives no matter the outcome of this hearing. On one hand, we could prevail and parole be denied but we know this will not be the last request and we will relive this again sooner rather than later. On the other hand, we lose our battle for parole and have to live with the fact that at any given time at the local Walmart or grocery store we might run into Eric’s murderer and relive this all over again just seeing his face. Eric doesn’t get a second chance. His sentence was death. No trial of his peers. No time with possibility of parole and never the chance to start his life again. He will never find the love of his life and marry. He will never see his first-born child. He will never meet his grandchildren. His heritage was ended by a horrific act of murder at the hands of his friend. Eric was Archie’s friend and possibly the only true friend that he ever had. They had been friends since grammar school. That was who Eric was. A true friend to someone who didn’t deserve his friendship. I ask that you (parole board) take all of the facts of these crimes into consideration. There was never an ounce of remorse (from Roberts). Even in the statements there was a little bit of bragging. I know what my family has been through the past 30 years and will continue to go through until the day we die. I don’t wish that on anyone, and I would hate to see another family go through this because of an early release and the possibility of (Roberts) repeating this because of his explosive anger,” said Ms. Jones.

When asked by Parole Board member Beavers why he should be granted parole, Roberts said he is a changed man today and while he showed no emotion, Roberts claimed he is sorry for taking a man’s life and seriously injuring another.

“I listened to Ms. George. I’m not going to lie. I have learned over the years that there is no greater love than a mother’s love. That’s one of the greatest gifts God has given us. I do know that, but I haven’t always known that. In this past year people who have stood by me and passed away, make me know what it is like to lose somebody, but I am not using that as an excuse or for sympathy. For her, listening to her (Ms. George), I am truly sorry, and I thank you (Ms. George) that you are able to consider in your heart to forgive me. I have thought a million times to write you a letter, but I have been scared to do so to bring that pain up. I didn’t want to do that. I am not the person I was when I was 17 years old. I am not a child that made stupid choices and decisions. I have come a long way. I wasn’t perfect my first little bit through prison, but I haven’t been in a lot of trouble, and I admit to all my mistakes. With all my write ups and everything I have done I know I was guilty. What I am in here for, I deserve the life sentence and the 20 years I got. I got a year on the escape charge because I was scared when I got it because I didn’t know what a life sentence was but when I got down the road, I turned myself in. Since I came into the prison, I have grown a lot and worked in jobs of trust that they will not let just any inmate do. I have compassion for people. I try to help people even the younger generation in here. I do know I have changed. I know I need some programs, but I am willing to take whatever it takes to further myself to get out of prison. I know when I committed these crimes, I wasn’t a criminal, but I made a terrible mistake. I took a man’s life and seriously hurt another one and I can’t change that, but I can live everyday making the right choices and doing the right thing to honor his memory,” said Roberts.

January 18, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Clerks at seven local stores have been cited for selling beer, or cigarettes, or vape products to a minor as a result of an undercover investigation conducted recently by the Smithville Police Department.

Kimberly Rhea of Moses Discount Tobacco, Vape, and Beer on Walmart Drive, Yolanda Ruiz of Mercado Chabelita on East Broad Street, Linda Oliver of Sunoco on East Broad Street,, Brandy Jackson of Smithville Discount Wine & Spirits on East Broad Street, Shelia Herron of Jewel’s Market on South Congress Boulevard, Caroline Michaels of Save-A-Lot on South Congress Boulevard, and Diab Barham of Mid-TN Vapor Stop of East Broad Street were each cited for sale of either beer, tobacco, or vape to a person under the legal age to make the purchase. They are scheduled for a court appearance on January 26.

Police Chief Mark Collins said the investigation was conducted using an undercover minor agent to make the purchases. The action was taken based on recent public complaints.

“During the last few days, the Smithville Police Department did an undercover operation targeting establishments here in town that sold beer, cigarettes, and vapes. We have had complaints from parents and concerned citizens that some of these stores were selling to people underage. During this investigation we targeted nearly every store in town that sold beer or tobacco to the public and seven buys were made to an undercover informant. In some cases, the clerks even asked for an ID and still sold it. None of the other stores we went to sold to our undercover agent and I want to commend them for that,” said Chief Collins.

“When someone does something right, I like to brag on them and in this case, I have written out a statement to the people who did not make the illegal sale that says the following: In the past few days the Smithville Police Department has conducted undercover beer and cigarette buys within the city limits of Smithville. During this operation we found that your business was in compliance with all state laws in regard to the sale of beer and or cigarettes to minors. I want to thank you for being a responsible vendor and doing your part in keeping beer and tobacco out of the hands of our juveniles. I signed this and the mayor signed it also,” said Chief Collins.

Aside from the citations against their clerks, store owners licensed to sell alcohol by the Smithville Beer Board or Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission where these violations occurred may have to answer to those licensing authorities for the actions of their clerks.

The City of Smithville adopted a new beer ordinance in October which includes a Responsible Vendors Program that is voluntary but requires participating vendors to comply with employee training requirements. In exchange for complying with the program, certified vendors receive reduced punishments for any illegal sales to minors. Once certified, participating vendors are not subject to permit revocation or suspension upon an initial violation. Instead, they are subject to only a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000 per offense of sale to a minor or other offense. Permanent revocation will not be allowable absent two violations within a 12-month period under state law. Nonparticipating vendors face higher civil penalties. A noncompliant vendor guilty of sale to a minor is subject to suspension or revocation or a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500. These discrepancies in punishment provide a major incentive for retail vendors to become certified.

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