Murphy Found Passed Out Behind Wheel with Drugs and Two Kids in Car

April 18, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

An Alexandria man has been charged with two counts of child abuse and neglect among other offenses after he was found passed out with pills in his vehicle at Wal-Mart. Two children were in the automobile with him

29-year-old Alex Wayne Murphy was arrested on March 13 for driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, simple drug and paraphernalia possession, and two counts of child abuse and neglect. He is under a $30,000 bond.

Chief Mark Collins said police were dispatched to Wal-Mart after a man was reported to be passed out in his vehicle. Upon arrival, an officer found the man, Murphy slumped over in the driver’s seat holding a handful of white pills, identified as Xanax. There were two children in the vehicle with him. One of the kids had no shirt or shoes and was in the front seat shivering. The other child was in the backseat half buckled in a car seat that was not connected to the vehicle. The engine was turned off and the doors were locked.

After gaining access to the inside of the vehicle, the officer removed the children and made sure they had proper care. Murphy was then awakened. According to Chief Collins, Murphy’s speech was slurred, and he was unsteady on his feet. Murphy submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

Murphy was taken into custody for DUI and a search was conducted of his person during which two cut straws with white residue were found along with a broken spoon with white residue and char on the bottom. A Wal-Mart receipt was also retrieved indicating that Murphy had bought some items at 5:38 pm almost two hours before the officer arrived on the scene at 7:24 pm. While conducting a driver license check with Central Dispatch, police learned that Murphy’s license was suspended.

A Dowelltown man accused of committing two burglaries including one at Smithville Elementary School last month is facing several charges.

40-year-old Bradley Shane Redmon was arrested on March 22 charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of property theft, and two counts of vandalism. His bond totals $41,000.

Chief Collins said Smithville Police took a report on March 12 in reference to someone having broken into the car wash maintenance room at 406 E. Broad Street and damaging the wash control panel and coin changer. A large sum of money was taken along with the hard drive to the security system.

Police then learned on March 21 that someone had broken into Smithville Elementary School at approximately 2:30 am and burglarized a vending machine and drink machine, taking a large sum of money. Damage to the vending and drink machines rendered them unusable.

During the investigation, Chief Collins said Redmon was identified as the person responsible for both crimes and he was taken into custody without incident.

40-year-old Anthony Charles Skaroupka of South College Street was arrested on March 16 for domestic assault. Chief Collins said police responded to a possible domestic incident and learned that Skaroupka had allegedly threatened to choke his victim and threw items around the room, placing her in fear. At one point, he reportedly placed his hands around the victim’s neck but did not apply pressure or restrict airflow. His bond is $2,500.

40-year-old Jessica French Hale was cited for trespassing on March 25. According to police Hale entered the Dollar Tree at approximately 4:45 pm knowing she had been ordered on October 31 to keep off the property.

44-year-old Rachel Lynn Spurlock of West Broad Street was arrested on March 31 for a second offense of driving under the influence. Chief Collins said police were dispatched to Bridgeway Motel due to a report of a suspicious vehicle and spoke to Spurlock who he learned had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend and had driven to this location. According to the officer Spurlock smelled of alcohol, her eyes were red and watery, and her speech was slurred. As Spurlock stepped out of the vehicle she became unsteady on her feet. She submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Spurlock also consented to the implied consent law (blood test). She was then placed in custody. Her bond is $2,000 and she will make a court appearance on April 20.

38-year-old Matthew Dewayne Griffith of Andrew Street was arrested on April 1 for criminal impersonation and stalking. Chief Collins said police were summoned to a residence where Griffith was allegedly trying to contact his ex-girlfriend by knocking on the door and announcing he was the police. The caller informed police that Griffith had been repeatedly following her from her home to work and knocking on her door trying to get her to talk to him. He would also leave unwanted gifts such as flowers on her front door and car. At one point he left a large banner above her front door with a rose attached to it. Bond for Griffith is $8,500 and his court date is April 20.

38-year-old Wallace Marlon Rackley of West Spring Street was arrested on April 4 for domestic assault. Chief Collins said police responded to a possible domestic incident and learned that during an argument, Rackley had allegedly punched his victim on the right side of her face. The officer noticed a red area and a contusion behind the victim’s ear consistent with a punch. After an investigation, police determined that Rackley was the primary aggressor, and he was taken into custody. Bond for Rackley is $5,000 and his court date is April 20.

69-year-old Michael Zane Ellis of Dearman Street was arrested on April 6 for driving under the influence and he was cited for implied consent. Police were called to 719 South Congress Boulevard where a man was reported to be asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle. Upon arrival, the officer awoke the man, Ellis and found him to be unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. Ellis kept falling asleep as the officer was speaking with him. Ellis submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. After he refused to submit to a blood test, a search warrant was obtained for a blood draw from him. Bond for Ellis is $2,500 and his court date is April 20.

42-year-old Brandon Lee Ackerman of East Broad Street was cited on April 4 for possession of drug paraphernalia. Chief Collins said as police were assisting TDOC Probation and Parole and during a random search of Ackerson’s home, five plastic baggies with white residue were found along with a grinder with a green leafy residue, a glass pipe/bong with white residue and two plastic straws with residue.

43-year-old Amanda Lynette Davis was arrested on April 13 for public intoxication. Chief Collins said police responded to a possible domestic incident and upon arrival found Davis on the ground yelling. When asked questions, Police said Davis’ answers made no sense, which made them think she was under the influence of Methamphetamine. Davis was determined to be an annoyance to the public because of her continuous yelling. She was taken into custody for her safety and that of the public. Bond for Davis is $2,500 and her court date is April 27.

April 18, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County School District has been awarded a Tennessee Innovative School Model Grant totaling two million dollars to enhance programs offered to high school and middle school students through the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Department to boost opportunities for career readiness and student success.

The Innovative School Models grant program expands on the Tennessee Department of Education’s initial ESSER investment of $30 million with an additional $500 million of state funds designed to eliminate structural barriers that exist between middle and high school, workforce, and postsecondary opportunities. These models allow students the ability to seamlessly make connections earlier and graduate high school prepared to successfully complete a postsecondary credential or excel in a career pathway of their choice.

Brad Leach, Career and Technical Education Director at DCHS told WJLE that the grant will fund new equipment for instruction and expansion of the current curriculum.

“We received one million dollars for our high school (DCHS) to use toward this innovative concept. Our middle schools, DeKalb Middle School and DeKalb West School have received $500,000 each to use toward innovation. We will use the grant to help students get to post-secondary through Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) two year or four-year colleges and try to give them some incentive to go onto college to get a degree or some form of technical training. We are also looking for students to be able to earn industry certifications. A lot of industries accept industry certifications which could mean better pay for them (students)” said Leach.

“We’re looking at expanding programs and creating new ones for our students in DeKalb County,” Leach continued. “We are putting in at the high school a new Mechatronics industrial maintenance lab and increasing our industry certifications and equipment in our advanced manufacturing and machining programs as well as our automotive programs. We are also looking at agriculture and some industry certifications there as far as health science. We have already added a new cosmetology program at the high school, and we plan to build on that next year while adding others. Most of the equipment we are buying will be of the virtual reality type with computers that have the capability of allowing students to visualize something and be able to produce it in a 3-D format”.

CTE Programs at DCHS include Auto Mechanics, Agriculture, Residential Carpentry, Advanced Manufacturing (Mechatronics & Machining), Criminal Justice, Cosmetology, Health Science, Teaching as a Profession, Coding, Audio/Video, Culinary Arts, Personal Finance, and Human Studies/Human Services.

A new career exploration program will be introduced at both DeKalb Middle School and DeKalb West School for eighth graders which will work somewhat in unison with STEM there.

“The schools already have a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program in place and have had for the last few years but this new career exploration course will somewhat take the place of STEM even though a lot of things the students are currently using with STEM will be incorporated into this new career exploration program so it will sort of go hand in hand,” said Leach.

“Through the new Career Exploration initiative, students at DeKalb Middle and DeKalb West School will better be made aware of the course offerings at the high school. We will use a virtual reality company called zSpace which offers a variety of software packages through which students can learn about and explore careers they want to pursue either post-secondary or directly into the workforce,” said Leach.

“We really want to get the eighth graders more in tune to getting a career path ready and we also do career assessments with them through virtual job shadowing which helps them narrow the gap of a possible career they want to pursue. Not every student in the eighth grade knows yet what they want to do as a career before they get to high school, and some don’t until after they get out of high school. We just want to help them get more focused on some careers that we can help them with through courses at the high school”.

By integrating CTE and academic courses, Leach said the Innovative School Model Grant will help strengthen students’ experiences and readiness for the workforce and postsecondary opportunities.

“We are going to be looking at some integration projects especially with English science, and math. When I say science, I mean looking at physics and chemistry because there’s more than just physical science. In the past we have done some integrated CTE academic projects with physics as far as human powered vehicles. We have used our advanced manufacturing and automotive programs, and in the physics course to develop human powered vehicles and before COVID we actually had races out back here. That’s just an example of how we’re looking to show these students that academics and CTE are both important especially if they are going onto post-secondary which we really want these kids to do for them to get a good education and be ready for high skilled in demand jobs,” said Leach.

“Future readiness is the foundation of our entire strategic plan. I’m excited we can continue to build on that foundation and provide our students a variety of opportunities to thrive in life after school,” he added.

Leach is grateful to Director of Schools Patrick Cripps, the Central Office Staff, High School, Middle School, and DeKalb West School Administration and Teachers, Board of Education members, businesses and industries, and post-secondary institutions who have all been strong supporters of the CTE program and this grant opportunity.

“Thanks to the investment of Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly, the Innovative School Models Grant opportunity will provide half a billion dollars to maximize opportunities for students to explore and succeed in high-demand careers, for industry to develop local talent, and for schools to create programs that meet the needs of their communities,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn in a prepared news release. “This opportunity can be a game-changer in helping districts to reimagine the possible and create innovative, high-impact, and meaningful experiences for middle and high school students in Tennessee.”

The state will invest $500 million over the next four years to give all traditional, public middle and high schools the opportunity to establish an Innovative School Model. Funding will be awarded to schools as follows:

•Middle schools serving more than 100 students are eligible for up to $500,000.
•Schools combining both middle and high school grades that serve more than 100 students are eligible for up to $500,000.
•Middle schools and high schools serving less than 100 students are eligible for up to $200,000.
•High schools serving more than 100 students are eligible for up to $1,000,000.

“The future of innovative programs to boost student and workforce readiness in Tennessee is brighter than ever. Through reimagining the high school experience; becoming more strategic about engaging younger students in career exploration; expanding access to courses; improving how data is collected and used; and being even more intentional in how we listen to—and learn from—Tennesseans, we will continue to keep our state’s workforce strong for years to come,” said Commissioner Schwinn.

April 17, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A little more than a month after a human skull was found near Center Hill Lake more remains, keys, and clothing were located today (Monday) during an expanded search effort in the same area near where Matthew Wayne Braswell was last seen sixteen months ago.

“Today (Monday) we found more remains including a scapula (shoulder blade) and a mandible (jawbone). We also found a portion of a pair of blue jean denim shorts fitting the description that Braswell was wearing and a key lanyard with keys on it. An area of about 10 acres was searched and the terrain was very rough making the effort very difficult. We will continue our investigation and will hopefully have some answers at a later date,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray.

Participating in the search were officers of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, members of the Smithville-DeKalb Rescue Squad, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Rangers from the Corps of Engineers, and members from the Middle Tennessee State University Anthropology Team.

The first clue in the disappearance of Braswell turned up on Thursday, March 9 when a human skull was found only 1.6 (aerial) miles from where Braswell was last seen on December 17, 2021 after he fled on foot from the scene of a crash on Ponder Road off Cookeville Highway. He was age 29 at the time.

More evidence including a shoe, sock, and a bone surfaced during a follow-up visual search in the same area on Wednesday, March 15. Sheriff Ray said at the time that the sock and shoe were consistent with the clothing Braswell was wearing when last seen.

The Anthropology team determined the bones found today (Monday) to be human, and as they did in the previous discoveries, investigators will send the remains to the state medical examiner’s office for further examinations by certified labs to determine identity.

Sheriff Ray said he wishes to thank all those who took part in the search effort Monday.

About the Middle Tennessee State University Anthropology Team:

The Forensic Anthropology Search and Recovery (FASR) Team is a group of MTSU students selected through a competitive application process. These students excel academically and professionally and volunteer their time assisting at skeletal crime scenes and the morgue. They receive specialized training in human Osteology and forensic scene recovery.

This team is under the direction of MTSU professor and forensic anthropologist Dr. Tiffany Saul. Dr. Saul received her training at the University of Tennessee at the internationally known Body Farm.