DCHS Lady Tiger Ella VanVranken becomes member of 1,000 point club

January 11, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A DeKalb County High School Lady Tiger basketball star was honored at halftime of the boys game against Watertown in Smithville Tuesday night.

Junior Ella VanVranken, newest member of the 1,000 point club, was presented a 1,000 career point game ball. Ella was joined during the recognition by her fellow players, coaches and family.

The Lady Tigers defeated Watertown Tuesday night 60 to 51 but the Tigers lost to the Purple Tigers 68 to 64.

“I was very excited to achieve this goal. Its been a goal of mine since I was a freshman so I am happy,” said Ella. The last Lady Tiger to join the 1,000th point club was former player Kadee Ferrell, who was a mentor and teammate of VanVranken. Ella said she learned a lot from Ferrell.

“The main thing I learned from her was that it is very important to be a good teammate offensively and defensively and to contribute to both sides. It was great playing with Kadee during her time here and now getting to be up there with her in this 1,000 point club,” said VanVranken.

Ella, daughter of Zach and Kristen VanVranken, scored her 1,000th career point on December 21,2022 in a holiday tournament between the Lady Tigers and Ezell Harding at Wilson County High School in Lebanon leading the team in scoring with 26 points that day in a 56 to 51 victory for DeKalb County.

To date, VanVranken has scored 1,170 points for her high school career with 348 rebounds, 150 assists, and 166 steals.

During her freshman year, Ella scored 367 points, had 123 rebounds, 33 assists, and 60 steals and received Freshman of the Year and 3rd Team All District honors.

As a sophomore, VanVranken scored 427 points, had 158 rebounds, 67 assists, and 70 steals and earned 2nd Team All District, a DTC award, and was voted on by her team as the Offensive Most Valuable Player.

Now, in her junior year, Ella has scored to date 376 points, had 67 rebounds, 50 assists, and 36 steals. During the Kerry Malone Christmas Tournament, where she scored her 1,000th point, Ella received player of the game honors in both games of the tournament in which the Lady Tigers competed.

DCHS Lady Tiger Coach Brandy Alley said Ella has been a joy to coach.

“Every time she suits up, she gives 100%. Ella leads by example and does her best to take over when the team needs her. Ella has stepped up to every challenge we have given her. I am very excited to see what her future holds,” said Coach Alley.

“Ella is an amazing player who is always willing to do whatever it takes to win. Over the past three years, I have seen her grow both on and off the court. In every role she has been asked to take on she has exceeded expectations. I believe she will succeed in anything she chooses to do with her life,” added Assistant Lady Tiger Coach Madison Parsley.

Among her teammates is her younger sister Chloe, a freshman.

January 10, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A DeKalb County mother is speaking out against parole for the man convicted of murdering her son almost thirty years ago.

Sharon George told WJLE this week that 30 years in prison is not long enough for Archie Lee Roberts who shot and killed her 18-year-old son Eric D. Graham and seriously wounded another teen, 17-year-old Shane Orlando in a knife attack on April 28, 1993. Roberts was age 17 at the time of the crimes which occurred outside his home on Bright Hill Road in DeKalb County. All three teens were students at DeKalb County High School.

Roberts, now 47 years old, has served almost 30 years of a life prison sentence for first degree murder and attempted murder and is up for his first parole hearing next Wednesday January 18 at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Whiteville, Tennessee where he is incarcerated.

Ms. George, who plans to address the parole board via video conference next week, said Roberts does not deserve to be released from prison.

“On April 28, 1993, I, along with all Eric’s family and friends, were sentenced to a life sentence until the day we die,” said Ms. George. “We have no chance for parole! Archie Roberts gave us this sentence by taking Eric’s life. He was sentenced a year later to “life” for 1st Degree Murder! Why should he be paroled? He also received a sentence of 20 years for Attempted 1st Degree murder of Shane Orlando, and an additional year for escaping from the DeKalb County Jail. These 3 sentences were to be served Consecutively! We fought hard to get this sentence and it should be carried out. My son’s life was worth more than 30 years,” said Ms. George.

According to the court records, “On April 28, 1993, while riding around and drinking together, Roberts got into an argument with Graham and Orlando. Roberts pulled a knife on Orlando, but Orlando was able to take the knife from Roberts. Upon arriving at his home, Roberts requested the return of his knife. Immediately after Orlando returned the knife, Roberts stabbed Orlando in the stomach causing a severe wound”.

(Click the link below to read a narrative about the Archie Roberts’ case and the judgment affirming his conviction by the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals in an opinion delivered by Judge Norma McGee Ogle in which Judges David G, Hayes and Jerry L. Smith joined)

RobertsA.pdf

“Roberts then entered his house and kicked in his mother’s locked bedroom door. He obtained a 12-gauge shotgun and shotgun shells, and he loaded the gun. Once outside, Roberts resisted his stepbrother’s attempts to restrain him, and he shot Graham in the head and in the shoulder. Roberts then shot at Orlando but did not hit him. After Orlando begged to get medical help for Graham, Roberts allowed Orlando to leave with Graham (in a pickup truck which crashed a short distance from the scene due to the severity of the wounds inflicted by Roberts to both Graham and Orlando). Roberts subsequently called 911 and made a coherent request for assistance. He also bragged to the neighbors about “killing a boy that was in the yard.” Graham died as a result of his head wound and Orlando was hospitalized for nine days”.

“Roberts was found guilty by a DeKalb County Criminal Court jury in 1994 of one count of first-degree murder in the death of Graham, for which he received a life sentence, and one count of attempted first degree murder in the stabbing of Orlando, for which he received a sentence of twenty years incarceration. Due to his youth, the State was unable to seek the death penalty for Roberts’ first-degree murder conviction. Accordingly, the trial court sentenced Roberts to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder conviction and to twenty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for the attempted first-degree murder conviction and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively”.

While incarcerated at the DeKalb County Jail, Roberts escaped but was captured a short time later and charged with felony escape for which he received a one-year sentence.

“Roberts appealed his case to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on direct appeal, and his convictions were affirmed. Subsequently, Roberts filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.

Specifically, Roberts alleged that his counsel was ineffective for failing to introduce any mitigating evidence at his sentencing hearing. Roberts contends that his trial counsel should have introduced evidence of his “horrific childhood and emotional problems” through the testimony of his sister and a psychiatrist.

Roberts claimed that if the psychiatrist testified at the sentencing hearing concerning his difficult childhood, the trial court would have had a basis for further mitigation of the sentences. However, Roberts’ trial counsel testified at the post-conviction hearing that there were strategic problems with calling the psychiatrist because of the doctor’s credibility.

As for his sister, Roberts contends she should have been allowed to testify during the trial regarding his difficult childhood. She testified at the post-conviction hearing that, as a youth, Roberts was kidnapped by his father, witnessed his father shoot at his mother, and watched his father abuse his mother. She testified that Roberts became withdrawn and developed an explosive temper as a result of his difficult childhood. Roberts contends that the trial court would have further mitigated his sentences if this evidence had been introduced at the sentencing hearing.

According to the appellate court’s analysis of the case, the trial judge had no discretion as to the first-degree murder conviction as life imprisonment was the only possible punishment due Roberts’ age. The range of punishment for attempted first degree murder as a Standard Offender is a minimum of fifteen (15) years and a maximum of twenty-five (25) years. The trial judge sentenced Roberts in the middle of the range at 20 years.

The post-conviction court denied the claim for relief, finding that Roberts had not established that his trial counsel had been ineffective or that he had been prejudiced by counsel’s actions. On appeal, Roberts raised the following issue for the court’s review: whether the post-conviction court erred in denying the petitioner’s claim for relief. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, the judgment of the post-conviction court was affirmed by the criminal court of appeals.

“Given the extremely violent nature of Roberts’ crimes and the fact that he did not dispute his guilt of those crimes, Roberts has failed to show how additional information regarding his childhood would have provided a basis for further mitigation. The trial court considered Roberts’ youth, his lack of judgment, and a mental condition that significantly reduced his culpability. There is no evidence that, had additional testimony been presented, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Accordingly, we find that Roberts has failed to establish that his trial counsel was ineffective. Even if trial counsel was ineffective at the sentencing phase, Roberts has nevertheless failed to demonstrate how this failure prejudiced him. Based upon the foregoing, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court,” the appellate court concluded.

According to Dustin Krugel, Communications Director for the Tennessee Board of Parole, four parole board members must concur on whether to grant Roberts’ petition for parole.

“Mr. Roberts has been scheduled for his initial parole hearing on January 18 at Hardeman County Correctional Complex in Whiteville. The Board of Parole schedules parole hearings for offenders upon receiving notification from the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) that an offender is eligible for parole. Parole eligibility is determined by the applicable statute and law under which the offender was convicted. The law mandates that a certain percentage of the sentence must be served before the offender is eligible for parole,” said Krugel.

“The Board’s enabling statute provides the requisite number of votes required for a decision in a particular case. For this case, there needs to be four concurring votes before a final decision is reached. Following the hearing, Board members will independently review the parole case and cast their vote. It does not have to be a unanimous vote,” Krugel added.

RobertsA.pdf

January 10, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A 38-year-old Sparta man lost his life in a two vehicle crash this morning (Tuesday) on Highway 70 at Snow Hill near Trapp Lane.

Dead is Rodney A. Henry.

According to Trooper Brent Collier of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Henry was traveling east in the left lane of Highway 70 in a 2004 Ford Ranger when he crossed over the middle turn lane and entered the west bound left lane striking head on an oncoming 2020 Ford Mustang driven by 34-year-old Matthew Murphy of Springfield who had recently moved here. The Mustang traveled a short distance west after impact before coming to a final rest in the westbound right lane. The Ford Ranger overturned and came to a final rest on its top in the middle turn lane.

Murphy was taken by DeKalb EMS to Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

911 received the call at 4:23 a.m.

In addition to THP, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb EMS were on the scene along with the DeKalb County Fire Department and Extrication and Rescue Team.

Unlike Murphy, Henry was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash.

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