DeKalb Turnout for Early Voting at 766 through first four days

July 20, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

For the first four days of Early Voting for the August Elections (Friday-Tuesday) a total of 766 people have cast ballots including 732 in person and 34 by absentee. From the total, 608 have voted in the Tennessee Republican Primary and 121 in the Tennessee Democratic Primary while 37 have voted only in the General Election without participating in either state primary.

The municipal election turnout through four days (Friday-Tuesday) is as follows: Smithville Municipal Election- 198; Alexandria 30, Liberty 12, and Dowelltown 10.

The DeKalb County Election Commission held early voting in Smithville and Alexandria on Tuesday, July 19.

The Tuesday turnout at each location is as follows:

Smithville (Courthouse): 169 (all in person), 131 (GOP Primary), 33 (Democratic Primary), 5 (General Election Only), 42 (Smithville Municipal Election), 5 (Liberty Municipal Election, 3 (Alexandria Municipal Election), 0 (Dowelltown Municipal Election)

Alexandria (Fairgrounds): 56 (in person), 46 (GOP Primary), 9 (Democratic Primary), 1 (General Election Only), 20 (Alexandria Municipal Election)

Early voting times are as follows at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville: Mondays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. until Noon. Early voting will also be held again in the western part of the county on a limited basis. The DeKalb County Fairgrounds will be the site of early voting on July 19th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on July 25 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Each early voting site is for any properly registered DeKalb County voter.

July 18, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A 33-year-old Sparta man accused of seriously injuring a 4-year-old child two years ago resulting in a bone fracture was sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday (July 18).

Judge Wesley Bray presided.

Charles David Woody entered a plea to aggravated child abuse and received 15 years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction. He was given jail credit from June 22, 2020 to July 18, 2022

On May 9th, 2020 the indictment alleges that Woody did unlawfully, knowingly, and other than by accidental means, inflict injury upon a 4-year-old child resulting in serious bodily injury, : to wit: bone fracture thereby committing the offense of aggravated child abuse.

A Smithville man arrested in July 2020 for breaking into and doing damage to a residence on Page Drive was sentenced Monday.

37-year-old Michael Andrew Snyders, Jr. entered a plea to aggravated burglary and received a sentence of 4 years all suspended to supervised probation upon condition that he complete a long-term program at the Restoration Ranch. All other cases against him are to be dismissed. Snyders was given jail credit of 54 days and must make restitution of $1,234

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on July 23, 2020 Snyders broke into a home on Page Drive through the front door and vandalized the inside of the residence. Home video surveillance showed him making entry. Damage to the home totaled $1,650. According to the report, Snyders tore up flooring in the closets and bathrooms, pulled up and broke duct work, and tore wires out of the heating and air units.

37-year-old Edward Lee Judkins, Jr. entered a plea to theft over $2,500 and received an effective 8-year sentence as a range II offender suspended to supervised probation. Judkins will get jail credit from June 21, 2020 to May 10, 2022 and he must make restitution of $3,000 to the victim. Other charges against him are to be dismissed.

Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, July 10, 2020 a deputy was called to a residence on Old Blue Springs Road to investigate the possible theft of a brown two-tone Chevrolet truck. Judkins had just broken into the truck, destroying the steering column to gain access to the ignition, before driving away in reverse as the deputy and a detective arrived on the scene. In trying to make his getaway, Judkins ran into a maroon Ford truck parked at the residence, and then went through a row of hedges onto the property of a neighbor causing $239 worth of damage to some landscaping there. After the truck stalled Judkins jumped out and fled on foot. Later a call came in that Judkins had returned to the same home on Old Blue Springs Road and entered by kicking in a door. As officers arrived back on the scene, they captured Judkins after spotting him climbing out a front window.

23-year-old Harley Paige Johnson entered a plea to Sale of a Schedule II drug (Amphetamine) and received a sentence of 4 years suspended to judicial diversion and she was fined $2,000.

31-year-old William Richard Denton entered a plea to Sale and delivery of a Schedule II drug (Amphetamine) and received a sentence of 4 years suspended to supervised probation and he was fined $2,000. Denton was given 15 days jail credit.

57-year-old Aubrey Kilgore entered a plea to a 4th offense of driving under the influence and received a one-year sentence on supervised probation. He was given jail credit of 150 days. Kilgore was fined $3,000 and will lose his driver license as per Tennessee Department of Safety regulations.

July 18, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A Cannon County man who broke into a local body shop in October 2021 and stole a car and thousands of dollars’ worth of tools before being caught by the Smithville Police Department appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday (July 18)

23-year-old Joseph Morgan entered a plea to theft over $10,000 and received a sentence of 6 years all suspended to supervised probation to run concurrently with a Cannon County TDOC sentence against him. Morgan was given jail credit for 287 days served and he is to make restitution to the victims in the amounts of $300 and $14,584.

According to Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins and Lieutenant Detective James Cornelius, Morgan pried open a side door and entered Custom Collision Auto Body & Repair on South Congress Boulevard around 11 p.m. Saturday night, October 2, 2021. Once inside Morgan found a Kia Soul which belonged to a customer that was in the shop for repairs and began loading into the car thousands of dollars’ worth of tools along with the shop’s DVR surveillance system.

While Morgan was still inside the business, a Smithville Police Officer was on patrol in the area and spotted three people behind Smithville Elementary School who were there dumpster diving. The officer got the identities of the three and ordered them to leave. Not knowing Morgan was inside the body shop a few feet away, the officer left the area and continued patrolling around Food Lion where he found people behind that store. When he chased them away, the officer returned to patrol the parking lot of the county complex and noticed Morgan near the shop. Morgan had opened the bay door from inside the shop and driven the Kia Soul out of the building. After Morgan saw the officer, he sped away. The officer got in pursuit of the vehicle and was joined by other patrolmen. Although police couldn’t catch up to it at the time, the car was later found abandoned off Holmes Creek Road near redneck beach but the stolen tools were not in it.

During his investigation, Detective Cornelius learned that several businesses and other establishments near the scene of the crime captured video with their surveillance systems. He then spent hours reviewing the footage which helped identify Morgan as a suspect. Detective Cornelius also discovered that one of the people dumpster diving behind the elementary school was an acquaintance of Morgan although he had not been connected with Morgan’s illegal activities that night.

Police located Morgan Sunday, October 3, 2021 and brought him in for questioning but he initially denied committing the crimes. Morgan was later released as more evidence was being gathered. By Monday evening, October 4, 2021 Detective Cornelius was ready to make an arrest and again picked up Morgan. Once confronted with the proof, Morgan confessed and led officers to the place where he had ditched the stolen tools near the scene of the crime before making his getaway.

The stolen Kia Soul and almost all the stolen tools were recovered. There was some minor damage to the body shop where Morgan had pried open a door to gain entry. The value of the stolen car is $23,490; $20,000 in shop tools, and $2,300 for the DVR equipment which at the time had not been recovered.

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