Two men indicted in separate cases of especially aggravated kidnapping

March 13, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

A man accused of holding a woman against her will at knifepoint and then repeatedly raping her back in December was indicted by the Grand Jury Tuesday, March 11.

34-year-old Timothy Ryan Lawson of Poss Road is indicted for especially aggravated kidnapping; aggravated rape (2 counts); rape (2 counts); aggravated assault; and interference with emergency calls.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on December 14, 2024 a detective was summoned to the hospital where a woman was taken after a possible rape in her home. Upon arrival, the detective spoke with the woman who reported that on the night of December 13, 2024 Lawson allegedly held her hostage, displayed a large knife and forced her to have sex with him saying he would kill her if she didn’t. After allegedly taking her phone so she could not call for help, Lawson then allegedly raped the woman a total of five times from the night of December 13 to the morning hours of December 14, 2024.

Meanwhile a man who allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, and robbed his own grandparents in April, 2024 was indicted by the grand jury Tuesday, March 11.

43-year-old John Brent Williams of Four Seasons Road, Smithville is indicted for especially aggravated kidnapping; aggravated robbery; and aggravated assault (2 counts)

Sheriff Ray said that on April 16, 2024 a deputy was summoned to the sheriff’s department due to a report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival he spoke with Williams’ grandparents who reported that the day before on April 15 Williams came to their residence at around 9 p.m. and entered a bedroom where he stole a handgun and then held his grandmother at gunpoint refusing to let her leave the home while ordering his grandfather at gunpoint to hand over the keys to their vehicle, a 2017 black Ford Escape. During the incident, Williams allegedly tried to strangle his grandmother and began dragging her by the hair.

Williams later left the residence with the gun and the vehicle. The Ford Escape was valued at $11,000

Williams was arrested on other charges in Kentucky and extradited back to DeKalb County.

March 13, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

A labor of love!

Members of the local FCE Club met Wednesday to put their sewing skills to good use by assembling a variety of comfort cushions, primarily for breast cancer survivors who have undergone treatment and surgery. The comfort cushions will be donated to an area breast cancer clinic and dispersed to future patients.

This is just the latest project undertaken by FCE, which stands for Family Community Education, once known as the home demonstration club. The group meets every three months and participates in various community endeavors from cooking demonstrations to field trips and hosting guest speakers, etc. Membership is open to men and women and the club operates under the local UT/TSU Extension Service.

“We always do projects or have a guest speaker. Today we are making comfort cushions for breast cancer survivors to put on their seatbelts and under their armpits where they have had their scars,” said Pat Wilt, FCE Secretary/Treasurer.

“This is the Family Community Education Club (FCE), once known as the Extension Homemaker Club and one of the things they do is participate in community projects. This project today is wonderful and is going to affect a lot of lives. It’s (FCE) a program offered by UT Extension and anyone can join. We meet every three months,” said Dr. April Martin, DeKalb County UT/TSU Extension Agent.

The purpose of comfort cushions is to provide relief for patients after surgery. They are used to relieve pressure from the areas of discomfort. Plus, they help provide better rest and sleep for the patient. Seat belt cushions create a protective barrier and helps relieve pressure to a tender chest area which may cause discomfort.

March 12, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

New names!

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the public works committee of the county commission voted to rename the history room, arcade room, and art room at the county complex to give them a more distinguishable identity subject to final approval by the full county commission.

The committee is recommending that the history room be renamed “The Tennessee Room”, that the arcade room be given the name “The DeKalb Room” and that the art room be called “The Classroom”.

Since the county complex was opened in 2012 the rooms had names for their intended purposes. Arcade games were originally placed in the arcade room for youth to gather but over time they were removed. Although the history room was meant to have been used to display county historical artifacts it was never developed for that purpose. Both rooms remain vacant but are often used by senior citizens and other groups. The art room is located near the main auditorium of the complex and its purpose is also primarily for the public to meet or gather.

Meanwhile, the committee also voted to recommend that any historical displays be placed in the county offices end of the county complex down the hallway by the offices of the county clerk, register of deeds, trustee, etc. provided it meets with the approval of the full county commission and state fire marshal. The idea is to make the displays more highly visible to the public while keeping them in a more secure environment. If approved it may take some time to organize such an effort in that the county currently has no panels, cabinets, or display cases for historical artifacts.

« First ‹ Previous 1 42 50 51 5253 54 62 152 2598 Next › Last »