Condition of house at time of arrest

A Manchester couple has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and placed on probation for two years after they entered a plea of guilty to criminal attempt to commit child neglect. Jeremy and Pamela Neal were arrested January 10, 2012 at their residence on Kefauver Street in Manchester after police found three children living in what they considered to be deplorable conditions. According to Manchester Police Investigator Butch Stewart, the officers found human and animal feces along with garbage in various amounts of debris was found throughout the house. According to warrants obtained by Stewart, the children appeared to be uncared for and very dirty, showing bug bites and numerous scratches on them. Emergency personnel transported the children to United Regional Medical Center where they checked.

Matthew Perkins' Intake Photo

Accused murderer Matthew Perkins made a brief court appearance in Coffee County Circuit Court Wednesday. The former Army recruiter is accused of murdering Stephanie Hershman and her two sons in their Skinner Flat home in Manchester in September 2010. Perkins’ defense attorneys informed Judge Craig Johnson that mental evaluations are continuing. The judge then set August 22nd as the next date for Perkins to appear, and he expects the evaluations to be completed. During that hearing a date will be set for motions to be filed. After the hearing Perkins was returned to his cell in the Franklin County Jail where he has been held since his arrest.

A Manchester Police captain has filed a lawsuit in Coffee County Circuit Court against the publisher of a local newspaper. A suit was filed by Wilma Thomas against Charles “Chip” Ramsey and his wife, Beth Ramsey, alleging that an article was published in the Saturday Independent stating that Thomas was reprimanded in the 1990s by a former city administrator for using inmates for personal chores, and that she was suspended from the police department for two weeks. Thomas alleges that the article was false and defamatory and placed her in a false light. The suit alleges that Ramsey had knowledge that the statement was false. Thomas also alleges that she has suffered damages in the form of impairment of her reputation and standing as well as humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress. She is asking for judgment to be issued against the Ramsey’s for compensatory and punitive damages as determined by a jury. Murfreesboro attorney Jerry Farmer represents Thomas. This is only one side of the legal issue.

Jackie L. McConnell, 60, of Collierville, Tennessee, John Mays, 50, of Collierville, and Joseph R. Abernathy, 30, of Olive Branch, Mississippi, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court, in Chattanooga, to charges related to the conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act. Charges are still pending against a fourth individual charged in this case.

Sentencing has been set for McConnell, Mays and Abernathy at 9:00 a.m., September 10, 2012, in U.S. District Court, Chattanooga. McConnell faces a term of up to five years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, supervised release for up to three years, and a $100 special assessment. Mays and Abernathy both face up to one year in prison, a $3,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release, and a $25 special assessment.