Local News Articles

Smithville Police have charged two females with shoplifting from the Walmart store.

Chief Richard Jennings says 16 year old Elissa Nicole Tanner of Alexandria and 21 year old Amanda Sue Hemby of Hermitage were arrested early Monday morning.

Officer Tyler Wix's report states that "I was patroling the Walmart parking lot when I was stopped by employees who stated that they had two shoplifters inside. I went inside to find Tanner and Hemby who had filled their purses with merchandise and attempted to leave the store. Both Tanner and Hemby were caught by employees prior to my arrival. Upon a search of the individual purses, a total of $233.70 worth of merchandise was taken. Both Tanner and Hemby were transported to the Smithville Police Department and charged with shoplifting. They were issued citations for the offenses and were released to Mrs. Tanner's mother."

Meanwhile, in other cases 25 year old Sandy Russell Young of Sparta was charged on Sunday with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arrest warrant states that " Officer Randy King arrested Young at Fred's parking lot for drug possession and a search of the vehicle, upon incident to arrest, found a blue bottle that contained a liquid, believed to be water. A syringe was under the seat and in the driver side door compartment was an empty bottle that was not his that was for dilaudid."

Young's bond is set at $1,000 and he will be in court on the charge February 14th.

40 year old Shannon D. Cook of Cooper Street was charged on Saturday with domestic assault. He will be in court on January 31st. He was arrested by officers Travis Bryant and Matt Holmes.

Sheriff Patrick Ray has compiled an activity report for the year 2007

In the report, Sheriff Ray says, "As we begin a new year in 2008, I would like to take this opportunity to look back at 2007 and review the accomplishments at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. With the support of our county government, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department Staff, and the citizens of our county, we have made significant strides in making our department a professional and accountable department that we all can be proud of. Here are some highlights of our first year:

Earlier in the year, we had our Drug Roundup where 48 people were arrested for 164 various drug offenses. The various drugs which were bought were drugs such as Dilaudid, Oxycontin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Marijuana.

The Sheriff’s Department also purchased a Malinois K-9 narcotic detector dog to fight the illegal sale and use of drugs. The K-9 was purchased with money that was seized from drug dealers and no tax money was spent.

The first Inmate Garden was started. Inmates worked throughout the summer planting and tending vegetables. Vegetables such as squash, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and a variety of beans were planted. In the fall, the inmates planted turnip greens. These vegetables were served to each inmate in the jail throughout the year.

In May, we had 2 DARE Graduations. There were over 375 fifth graders from Northside Elementary and DeKalb West School that completed a 10 week course where they were taught about the effects of drug abuse and violence. Also in May, the Sheriff’s Department conducted a Graduation Roadblock where a total of 1,044 vehicles were checked. There were many arrests with one arrest resulting in a charge for possession of over 22 grams of Cocaine.

In July, we purchased a new travel trailer valued $25,000.00 from the Federal Government at a cost of only $1,000.00. We now use this trailer as our mobile Critical Response Unit.

In August, we started the Sheriff’s Departments new website. The website’s address is www.dekalbsherifftn.com. This site has a lot of different links related to law enforcement informational services and community safety tips that helps our citizens, particularly our children and seniors, to live safe and productive lives.

The DeKalb County Jail and Jail Annex were recertified by the Tennessee Corrections Institute. We also added 18 more beds to the Annex area of the Jail to reduce overcrowding. The Jail was approved to house 104 inmates.

We also teamed with the Governor’s Task Force on Marijuana Eradication where they did a fly-over of a portion of DeKalb County and found and destroyed over 453 marijuana plants.

In the fall, we launched the “Citizens Alert System”. This system is designed to quickly inform the citizens of DeKalb County, via email, about matters which might affect them. This system also is very beneficial in assisting the Sheriff’s Department in certain investigations.

In September, we teamed with the local senior citizens group in the HELP Program, which stands for “Helping Elderly Live Productively”. We delivered over 50 cases of donated water to senior citizens in DeKalb County suffering from the extreme heat and drought conditions.

In November, the Sheriff’s Department assisted the HELP Program by helping distribute canned foods to the elderly and disabled citizens in the county. In December, the Sheriff’s Department continued our support and assistance with the HELP Program by delivering donated gifts to the elderly and disabled citizens in the County.

Also in December, working in cooperation with the City of Alexandria Police Department and the City of Smithville Police Department, we conducted a New Year’s Eve Roadblock where almost 300 vehicles passed through, and 4 arrests were made.

During 2007, our department has had four Deputies graduate from the police training academy. In addition, our department’s Deputies and Correctional Officers have completed over 40 hours of certified training each.

My administration’s goal continues to be giving top priority in addressing the drug problem in DeKalb County. I think we have made a focused impact on this continuing battle during our first year, and there should be no question of my department’s seriousness and commitment in fighting this problem that so seriously affects so many people.

I would like to thank each and every one of my employees for the wonderful job they do. I, along with you, the citizens of DeKalb County, am very blessed to have employees working for us that have the best interest of our county at heart. As your Sheriff, I look forward to beginning a new year with continued commitment and hard work in making you proud of your sheriff’s department."

The DeKalb Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a grant from the State of Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, Office of the Criminal Justice Program.

Sheriff Patrick Ray says this grant is for 15 removable in-car video cameras. Each patrol car will be equipped with a new video camera. This camera will be attached to the patrol cars dash, but also can be removed and used as a hand held video recorder. This will assist deputies while on traffic stops and will give them the ability to video tape any crime scenes they respond to. The Grant is for $18,000.

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department has arrested three people in recent days on drug charges.

23 year old Brandon Lynn Tallent was charged on January 5th with simple possession of a Schedule II drug (dilaudid).

Sheriff Patrick Ray says deputies responded to a call about a vehicle sitting in the roadway. When officers arrived, they found Tallent around the vehicle and then saw him throw a blue container in the ditch. Deputies found two pills believed to be dilaudid.

Tallent posted a $1,500 bond and he will be in court January 31st on the charges.

Meanwhile on January 7th, deputies responded to a gas drive off on Highway 56 South. Sheriff Ray says when deputies arrived, they found 45 year old Darrell Wayne Evans of Winding Way, McMinnville in the store. The owner of the store had reportedly chased the vehicle down and asked Evans to return to the store. Evans was found to be in an intoxicated state. Upon a search of Evans' person, he was found to have six blue pills in his pocket believed to be valium.

Evans posted a $3,500 bond for public intoxication and simple possession of a schedule IV drug.

He will appear in court on January 31st.

32 year old Jennifer Leigh Taylor of 455 Parsley Road, Smithville was charged January 9th with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a schedule III drug. Sheriff Ray says deputies were attempting to serve a warrant at Lakeside Resort and found a cut straw and a plate that contained a line of white powder and a total of four pills in Taylor's possession. The pills are believed to be Hydrocodone. Sheriff Ray says Taylor did admit that the plate and pills belonged to her. Taylor posted a $2,500 bond and she will be in court on February 7th.