Category: News

On Tuesday morning (May 1st, 2018) at the Coffee Justice Center a female was walking into the building and passed through security. Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Court Officer Ava Villegas checked Jennifer Danielle Webb’s wallet when she noticed a baggie sticking out. Upon inspection court officers allegedly found 9 individually packaged bags of methamphetamine in her possession along with a set of digital scales and a hypodermic needle.
Upon being booked in at the Coffee County Jail, Webb age 32 of Lowell Colony Road was also allegedly found to have another bag of methamphetamine in her undergarment.
Webb was charged with manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance, contraband in a penal institution and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. Her bond was set at $27,000 and she is set to appear in Coffee County Court on May 8, 2018.

On Saturday (April 28th, 2018) Tullahoma Police Officer Jacob Smith responded to 130 Ham Street in reference to disturbance. Upon arrival, officers made contact with Michael Braden Mitchell in the roadway in front of residence. Upon speaking with Mitchell, Officer Smith noticed slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smell of intoxicant. While taking Mitchell in to custody he began to resist officers and had to be taken to the ground where he continued to resist.
A check of the Mitchell’s warrant status revealed he was under an order of protection from complainant at that address. During transport Mitchell allegedly made a statement that another officer at the scene would wind up dead.
Mitchell was charged with violation of order of protection/restraining order, resisting arrest, public intoxication, and retaliation for past action. His bond was set at $18,500 and he will appear in court on May 3, 2018.

There was fatal motorcycle accident in Decherd on Tuesday afternoon. The motorcycle was being operated on Hwy 127 by Aulton O. Richardson, 48, of Decherd.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Richardson was traveling north on Highway 127 and was approaching traffic that was slowing down. Reports said he was unable to stop and three other vehicles were involved.
The motorcycle made its way past a Kia Sedona, driven by Devin M. McChessney, 26, of Hillsboro, and clipped the back end of a Nissan Frontier, driven by Nina D. Rodriquez, 33, of Winchester, which was directly in front of the McChessney vehicle.
A Ford Ranger, driven by David G. Bush, 63, of Georgetown, Tennessee, was going south in the opposite direction, and the vehicle and the motorcycle collided killing Richardson.
No other injuries were reported.

Administrators at Motlow State Community College and Middle Tennessee State University recently took steps to further develop the relationship between the two schools by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Motlow’s Smyrna campus. The cooperative agreement directly benefits qualifying Motlow graduates who transfer to MTSU to obtain their bachelor’s degree.
A highlight of the agreement is the creation of a “MTSU Promise” scholarship for Motlow students who complete their studies and then successfully transition to MTSU to complete their bachelor’s degree. Through its existing Guaranteed Transfer Scholarship Program, MTSU will guarantee admission and provide transferring Motlow students with $3,000 per year for two years, or a maximum of four semesters, based on reaching and keeping a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Motlow transfer students will not be eligible to apply to receive the Guaranteed Transfer Scholarship until they complete 45 credit hours at Motlow.
The institutions will also share information to assist in better communicating the opportunities and benefits available to students as they work toward their educational goals. Such cooperation will benefit enrollment at both schools.
“A strong relationship between Motlow State and MTSU is central to ensuring quality service to the communities we partner to serve,” said Dr. Michael Torrence, Motlow president. “The formalization of this transfer scholarship plan will help our team of Motlow advisers and completion coaches as they frame long-term academic options for student success.”
Motlow currently provides MTSU more degree-seeking transfer students than any other source, according to officials at the university.

The Tennessee State Review Board will meet to examine proposed nominations to the National Register of Historic Places on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. at Clover Bottom Mansion, 2941 Lebanon Pike, Nashville, TN 37214.
The Board will vote on 7 nominations, including:
• Smotherman House, Tullahoma, Coffee County
• Tullahoma Municipal Building, Tullahoma, Coffee County
Those nominations that are found to meet the criteria will be sent for final approval to the National Register of Historic Places in the Department of the Interior.

On Sunday night (April 29, 2018) a person was asked to come to a residence on Farrah Hill Road. When the person arrived, Brandy D. Arnold, age 39, and Jeffery Scott Arnold, also age 39, both of Fredonia Rd came out of the bedroom allegedly threatening to kill the victim while displaying a shotgun toward the victim.
Brandy and Jeffery Arnold are accused of holding the victim against their will at the residence for 4 hours. Both Arnolds were also allegedly displaying and pointing a loaded shotgun at several other victims in the residence.

The person who came to the residence drove a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder to the home, subjects then began to vandalize the vehicle causing considerable damage and then later had the vehicle removed from the property. Value of the vehicle was over $10,000.
Brandy D. Arnold and Jeffery Scott Arnold were both charged by Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Captain Danny Ferrell with 3 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, theft of property and 4 counts of reckless endangerment. Bonds were set at $225,000 each and they are scheduled to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court on May 14, 2018.

The Sportsmen and Businessmen Charitable Organization donated to both Coffee County Schools Family Resource Center and Manchester City Schools Family Resource Center. “It is a mission of SBCO to support programs that directly assist the children in our community. The group says they are proud to contribute to Coffee County Schools’ Family Resource Center’s ‘Coffee County Student Expo’ program and Manchester City Schools’ Family Resource Center’s ‘WeCare’ program. Both are outstanding student support initiatives that continually address the barriers hindering student academic achievement,” said Carter Sain, SBCO President. The Sportsmen and Businessmen Charitable Organization has been serving the Coffee County community for 35 years.

2,811 Coffee Countians casted a ballot early out of the just over 30,000 registered voters. There were 1,977 Republicans and 834 Democrats that cast their ballots in the primary. Four years ago, there were 2,840 early votes cast.
Election Day is Tuesday (May 1, 2018), polls open at 8am and close at 7pm.
WMSR-Thunder Radio will provide live election coverage beginning at 7pm.
Winners will face off in the county general election on August 2.
Remember if you plan to vote, you need a photo ID, it is the law.
Primary county elections are being held for: mayor, all 21 commissioners, trustee, sheriff, county clerk, circuit court clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, road commissioners and constables.
The Coffee County Election Commission will meet on Friday, May 4 at 4:00 PM at the Election Commission Office, in the Administrative Plaza at 1329 McArthur Street, Suite 6, Manchester. The purpose of the meeting will be to canvass election day totals and count any provisional ballots that may have been voted.