An undercover investigation conducted by Special Agents with the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and deputies with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department has resulted in the indictment and arrests of more than a dozen individuals on drug-related offenses.
TBI Drug Agents and Grundy County deputies worked together to conduct an undercover drug operation in and around the Grundy County area.
On Tuesday (March 12th), 4 different law enforcement agencies began arresting many of those individuals indicted. Those who were arrested include:
• Richard Anderson, 41, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II drugs (4 counts), Poss. Drug Paraphernalia
• David Campbell, 35, of Altamont: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II drug (2 counts)
• Laurie Dent, 31, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II drug (2 counts)
• Stephanie Meeks, 41, of Viola: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II
• Carol Castleberry, 38, of Monteagle: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts), Poss. Schedule II (2 counts)
• Daniel Deslinger, 33, of Altamont: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts), Poss. Schedule II (2 counts)
• Tommy James, 52, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts), Poss. Schedule II
• Jimmy White, 39, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts)
• Elizabeth Smith, 23, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (4 counts)
• Brenda Borne, 55, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts)
• Donna Shadrick, 47, of Gruelti-Laager: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (3 counts)
• Stefan Payne, 24, of Beersheba Springs: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts)
• Cody Forsyth, 26, of Beersheba Springs: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts), Poss. of Schedulle II
• Brandy Brown, 30, of Beersheba Springs: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts), Poss. of Schedule II
• Scotty Green, 46, of Whitwell: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts)
• Saberina Little, 41, Coalmont: Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II drugs (4 counts)
• Kevin Seth Killian, 28 (no address): Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II drug. Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia
• Donald Lee Campbell, 39 (no address): Manufacture, sell & delivery Schedule II (2 counts)
Twenty-four people were indicted in the operation, so investigators said six of them had not yet been arrested.
Those arrested are set to appear in court on March 15.
Category: News
Several Drug Arrests occur mostly in Grundy County
School Safety Proposal Moves Forward
A $40 million proposal to improve school safety is advancing in the Tennessee Legislature.
The House Education Committee agreed Wednesday to send the Gov. Bill Lee-backed bill to a finance panel to be reviewed.
The proposal sparked a lengthy discussion among lawmakers concerned the bill was being oversold on how it would help schools.
According to the bill, the funding would be distributed as safety grants to help pay for school resource officers and other safety priorities. Schools would provide matching funds to get grants.
Multiple lawmakers noted the money currently allocated is not enough to fund a school resource officer at all of Tennessee’s roughly 1,800 schools. Others asked why the state didn’t pursue cheaper options, including the possibility of arming more teachers rather than hiring an officer.
It’s National Nutrition Month®
Choosing nutritious foods and getting enough physical activity can make a real difference in the health of Tennesseans. During National Nutrition Month® 2019, the Tennessee Department of Health is encouraging everyone to make informed food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services physical activity guidelines recommend adults participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, including at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities. Being physically active up to 300 minutes per week has even greater health benefits. Children and teens need 60 minutes of activity each day, and it should be fun!
Tennessee had the 15th highest adult obesity rate in the U.S. in 2017 at 32.8 percent, up from 20.9 percent in 2000.
One step Tennesseans can take to strive for better health is to cut down on sugar sweetened beverages like sodas and sports drinks, which provide many calories without much nutritional value. Substitute water for these beverages. Eating healthy foods and getting physical activity are also keys to maintaining a healthy weight.
TDH offers resources online for programs and services including WIC, breastfeeding, diabetes management, nutrition and youth run clubs to help support Tennesseans’ efforts to pursue healthful lifestyles.
National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“Little Houdini” back in the News
“Little Houdini” Christopher Gay
Manchester Police Chief Investigator Jackie Matheny told WMSR News that Miranda Jones, and Donald Wyatt Jr. were arrested in McMinnville.
A notorious man known as “Little Houdini” for ability for escaping from custody including Coffee County, Christopher Gay, and others are accused of stealing items such as a $260,000 motor home, a truck from a Stan McNabb dealership in Tullahoma, equipment from Tri-Green in Manchester plus items in other states. There is also a suspicion of even planning a jail break Virginia.
The so-called “Little Houdini” is known as a jailhouse escape artist, but now Matheny says he might have been the mastermind behind a multi-state crime ring that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise. In January Gay was arrested in a stolen Corvette in Virginia. Where he is now in jail.
“It was really, just old-fashioned police work,” said Investigator Matheny. He bragged about the outstanding work done by Captain Dwight Vandergriff and Investigator Jonathan Anthony.
While searching Jones and Wyatt’s possessions police found a letter to a Virginia prison addressed to Christopher Gay and a hand drawn map of the Virginia jail holding Gay as though they were planning a jailbreak.
Gay is a habitual offender with a reputation for escaping from Tennessee jails, including escaping custody from a Coffee County deputy several years ago in Atlanta.
Police are working to return the stolen items to their owners.
TN Lawmakers Consider an Alzheimer’s Advisory Council
The Alzheimer’s Association of Tennessee says Alzheimer’s disease is the only official cause of death without dedicated research funds for a cure. (phiasinclair/Twenty20)
AARP Tennessee and the Alzheimer’s Association back the idea of a state council to examine the industries, services and resources available to seniors and families living with memory-loss disorders. Last year, Alzheimer’s care and treatment cost Tennessee close to $1 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Rachel Blackhurst, director of public policy and advocacy at the Alzheimer’s Association of Tennessee, said the bills have garnered broad support.
“We actually have quite a bit of support for these bills in the Legislature,” she said. “Some individual legislators have been impacted, with family members suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and they understand this issue. We don’t have to tell them what’s important. They know the financial and emotional strain that Alzheimer’s has on families.”
Tennessee has the fourth-highest Alzheimer’s death rate in the nation, Blackhurst said.
Senate Bill 28 is being carried by Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City. Its companion bill, House Bill 37, is sponsored by Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin.
The bills would charge the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability with priorities such as increasing early detection and diagnosis of memory-care issues, educating health-care providers and monitoring state agencies. Blackhurst said the goal is to help coordinate efforts between advocacy groups and government agencies.
“In the past, it’s been individual advocacy groups trying to get the Legislature and the governor to take Alzheimers seriously,” she said. “With the establishment of an advisory council within the state government, they will really become this ‘official voice’ of Alzheimer’s disease.”
A few months ago, the Trump administration signed legislation to provide cooperative funding to states to aid in the Alzheimer’s public-health crisis. This is the first step for Tennessee to establish an infrastructure in order to be eligible for those funds.
TWRA says leave Abandoned Wildlife Alone
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is urging the public to leave wildlife alone which appear to be abandoned. Recent flooding in various areas of the state has displaced some wildlife which has resulted in an influx of calls to the TWRA and wildlife rehabilitators across the state.
Each year, especially in the spring and the early summer, Tennesseans encounter wildlife, appearing to be orphaned, sick, or injured. The TWRA urges the public to leave wildlife alone.
Hike Planned at Old Stone Fort March 23
With warmer weather coming, Tennessee State Parks is hosting free guided spring hikes in all 56 state parks led by park rangers on Saturday, March 23.
Join the Park Rangers at Old Stone Fort State Park in Manchester for a 2.5 mile hike along the Enclosure Trail to the Forks of the River. This hike is considered moderate, as there will be a gradual elevation change. The hike will take you along both the Big and Little Duck Rivers to where they combine to form the Duck River. You’ll witness three waterfalls and discuss the important history of the prehistoric Native American mounds also located at the park. Dogs are welcomed as long as they are leashed and cleaned up after. The staff at Old Stone Fort Park looks forward to seeing you.
Manchester to Annex Bonnaroo Grounds–Maybe, But Not Yet
Cooling fountain at Bonnaroo
Last year you might remember that Coffee County failed to sign a long-term contract with Bonnaroo.
Now Bonnaroo representatives have asked Manchester City leaders about the possibility of annexing its property so the land at Great Stage Park would be inside the city limits of Manchester.
Because the land is currently outside the city limits, the county receives sales tax revenues generated during the annual event, which is around about $1 million per year.
Just because Manchester can annex the land, the city will not initially start receiving all of the sales tax. They would receive any growth in sales tax dollars, and after 15 years following annexation, all sales taxes from the event would then go to Manchester. If the city annexes the land, the county will lose sales tax revenue. To annex Bonnaroo the city can annex the property with written consent of the owners or by referendum.
Under the old contract that ended in 2017, Bonnaroo paid a $3 fee for each ticket sold and a $30,000 flat fee to the county each year, amounting to roughly $250,000 annually. This did not include sales taxes collected on-site.
A one-year contract between Axis Nation, LLC, conducting business as Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, and Coffee County was signed last year for a one-time donation of $205,000.
Bonnaroo wanted to sign a 10-year deal that would have raised the ticket fee from $3 to $4 per ticket to fund a road project. They wanted the county to use the funds to widen Bushy Branch Road that leads to the festival’s main entrance.
These ticket fees will no longer be designated to go to the county until a long-term agreement is reached with either Coffee County or Manchester.
Despite the contract issues Bonnaroo will continue to pay for emergency services along with traffic and public safety personnel provided by the county during the event.
The 19th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is set for June 13-16. (Courtesy of the Tullahoma News)
High Speed Pursuit Leads to Manchester Man’s Arrest
19-year-old Corbin D. Kell of Manchester was arrested and placed in the Franklin County Jail on $35,000 bond following early Sunday morning high-speed chase by police that ended with the vehicle crashing in Winchester.
Kell also had a 1-year-old child in the vehicle along with five other adults.
The man is charged with aggravated child abuse or neglect, evading and resisting arrest, speeding 25 miles over the speed limit, failure to maintain financial responsibility, failure to maintain and exercise due care, child restraint violation, traffic control device violation, reckless endangerment, assault and reckless driving.
Winchester police reports say that the incident occurred about 4 a.m. Sunday when officers responded to an active pursuit call.
The vehicle was clocked at 89-mph in a 45-mph zone when it hit a curb and went airborne, colliding with a pole and going through a metal fence before it came to a rest.
The child was transported to a hospital emergency room to be treated for possible injuries. No information was released concerning the health of others.
Grundy Co. Woman Arrested for DUI after She Crashes into Head Start Bus
Shannon Hargis’s car.. Photo provided
A woman is facing charges after crashing into a Grundy County head start bus on Friday afternoon.
According to Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum, the crash happened on Highway 108 between Altamont and Skymont around 2:30 p.m.
After a preliminary investigation, deputies determined that the woman who crashed with the bus was impaired at the time of the accident.
Shannon Hargis
Shannon Hargis, 35, of Gruetli-Laager, was arrested and later charged with Driving Under the Influence.
No children were injured in the accident, which Shrum said is thanks to the quick actions of bus driver Faith Caldwell.
