A Scam Alert!
by: Dwayne PageJun 25, 2025
Sheriff Patrick Ray has issued an alert asking the public to beware of a scam against would be victims.
In a prepared statement, Sheriff Ray said “I have had many calls this week about someone calling citizens here in DeKalb County claiming to be with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, who are claiming to have a warrant on the person who received the call. This is a scam,” said Sheriff Ray.
“The scammer claims this person owes a bond or fine for not showing up on a summons or not showing up to report to Grand Jury Duty. The scammer is using a local Judge’s name who issued the warrant. The scammer is trying to collect hundreds to thousands of dollars from the caller for the bond or the fine”.
“The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department DOES NOT do this practice. Hang up the phone on the caller and DO NOT send the caller any money. If you send the scammer any money, it is almost impossible to get it back. Most scammers we see are from other counties and not in the US even though it appears on your caller ID as a local number,” Sheriff Ray said
“If you are a victim of this scam and have sent money, please contact the Cookeville FBI office at 931-526-8622 to report it”.
Mother Charged with Child Abuse After Her 4-Year-Old Ingests Meth
by: Dwayne PageJun 25, 2025
A mother has been charged with child abuse or neglect after her four-year-old son ingested methamphetamine.
36-year-old Jessica Leann Bain of Church Street, Smithville is under a total bond of $50,000 on charges of child abuse or neglect (child under 8 years old) and possession of methamphetamine. Her court date is July 10.
The case was investigated by Detective Brandon Donnell of the Smithville Police Department who filed the following affidavits of complaint in the arrest warrants.
“On June 18, 2025, at 7:51 p.m. Smithville Police were dispatched to the emergency room in Smithville for a 4-year-old child that had ingested Methamphetamine. Upon my arrival, I made contact with the child’s grandfather who advised that he picked the child up and noticed the child was not acting right and he took him to the hospital. The child’s mother, Jessica Bain, advised that her son had ingested left over bong water that was used to smoke the meth that was sitting on her nightstand in her bedroom. The child was transported to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. The 4-year-old child tested positive for Meth, THC, and Amphetamine”.
“On June 18, 2025 I was investigating a Child Abuse case involving a 4 year old child ingesting Methamphetamine. I went to the mother of the child’s residence on Church Street where the offense occurred and made contact with the mother, Jessica Bain. Ms. Bain gave me consent to search the residence and I found 2 grams of a crystal substance that later tested positive for Methamphetamine in Jessica Bain’s closet”.
DeKalb Jury Convicts Man of Sexual Battery by An Authority Figure
by: Dwayne PageJun 25, 2025
A DeKalb County Criminal Court Jury returned a guilty verdict against 42-year-old William Ryan Hudgins Tuesday, June 24, 2025. It took the jury only 30 minutes to deliberate and return their verdict.
According to a media release by District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, the Defendant, Hudgins was originally Indicted in April 2023 by a DeKalb County Grand Jury for sexual battery by authority figure. The victim was his 17-year-old niece.
While the family was vacationing from Michigan in a rented cabin, the Defendant (the victim’s uncle) creeped into her room to commit the act. They were vacationing as a family here between the week of Christmas and New Year. The offense occurred on early morning hours of New Year’s Day January 1st, 2023.
The lead detective was Stephen Barrett with the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Chris Isom, a Criminal Investigator with the District Attorney’s Office.
Great appreciation is also shown to Niles Michigan Police Officers Carl Adam Ashley and Jacob Rosin, who responded to the family home the evening of January 1, 2023. The victim disclosed to Michigan officers what happened to her in Tennessee at the hands of her uncle in the basement before they traveled back to Michigan. The Victim’s parents were protective and called police when they learned of the abuse. The Defendant confessed to his sexual battery of the child to law enforcement officers.
This case was prosecuted at trial by the Assistant District Attorney’s Jessica Krebs and Randal Gilliam, members of the District Attorney’s Child Abuse Prosecution Team.
Hudgins’ defense attorney was Mike Giaimo of Cookeville