Category: News

In a news release from the Tullahoma Police Department (TPD) they report that on Jan. 21, 2018 at approximately noon officers responded to call of a possible kidnapping. The report indicated that this possibly involved a suspect with a firearm that occurred in the Walmart parking lot. Tullahoma officers quickly determined an armed robbery had occurred and began their investigation. TPD officers concluded two juvenile suspects committed the crime and one was taken into custody at the scene.
The two juveniles met the victim in the parking lot after an agreement was made to make a purchase from the pharmacy. The victim and one of the juveniles entered the store, completed the transaction, and returned to the victim’s vehicle. While inside the vehicle one of the juveniles pulled a BB gun and attempted to take the purchased items. The victim got out of the vehicle and one of the offenders left the area. The second juvenile offender was located and arrested and evidence relating to the crime was recovered.
Please know this was not a random incident, all parties were acquainted, and there is no threat of random violence to the public.

The Manchester Police Department is asking for help identify a person. A male subject is believed to be involved in an incident that took place at Wal-Mart. If you can identify this person, please contact Manchester Police Investigator Brandon Tomberlin at 728-2099.

On January 27th, 2 male subjects entered Walmart in Winchester and stole several items, including a hoverboard and 2 computers. They left in a white 4 door Chevrolet sedan.
If you have any information on this theft or the individuals/vehicle involved, please call Winchester Police Department at 931-967-3840 (Detective Robert Morris) or call Crimestoppers at 962-INFO (4636).
These cases are believed to be unrelated.

After receiving information this week from a person that works for the cable industry that he was almost struck by a car, WMSR News wanted to remind drivers of the “The Move Over Law.” The law passed in 2006, is a part of the State Law: Move Over for Stopped Emergency Vehicles “Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles Law” and requires motorists to move over into the adjacent lane of traffic, when safe to do so, or to slow down for emergency vehicles if a lane is not open.
In 2011, the law was expanded to include utility service equipment (electric, water, cable, ext.) to the list of vehicles for which motorists are required to either slow down or move over.
In a change to the law that began last summer, Tennesseans will have to move over for anyone with their hazard lights on, including drivers like you and me when pulled over to help someone or in distress.

They cure what ails us, but Tennessee doctors also are improving the health of the state’s economy, according to a new report.
The findings from the Tennessee Medical Association cover “The Economic Impact of Physicians in Tennessee,” and says doctors in the Volunteer State support 175,000 jobs and generate $29 billion in economic activity annually.
Dave Chaney, vice president with the Tennessee Medical Association, says the role the health care field plays in state and local economies is significant.
“Patients rightfully think of doctors as caregivers who safeguard the health and well-being of people who live and work in their communities,” says Chaney. “But there’s a clear economic impact that the medical profession has, on their communities and statewide.”
The report says Tennessee doctors generate almost $14 billion in wages and benefits and create $908 million in state and local tax revenue. In addition to medical professionals, practices employ people with clerical, business management and finance skills, all of which support jobs that pay higher than a living wage.
The report does not address the increasing costs of healthcare.
Chaney says the variety of industries doctors support may surprise you.
“You think about the number of people it takes, the amount of work that it takes to run a medical practice, especially for mid-size and large groups that are big businesses,” he says. “They employ many people in different professions beyond those that are actually practicing medicine.”
The report also found that every dollar applied to physician services in Tennessee supports another two dollars in business activity. Chaney adds that one challenge to the profession is the additional paperwork now required as a result of health insurance and public benefits.

A Tullahoma man is in the Coffee County Jail and another was transported to Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville with injuries to his liver.
According to warrants obtained by Tullahoma Police Investigator Sgt. Harry Conway, Johnny Lee Turner, 40, of Freeman Circle, Tullahoma was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, evading arrest and violation of probation following an incident that occurred on Jan. 28.
The warrants allege that Turner stabbed an individual in the stomach area causing a laceration to the man’s liver. The warrants allege that the stabbing was the result of an argument over drugs and occurred outside Ada Ferrell Apartments.
According to warrants, Officer George Dodson responded about a fight at the apartments, when he arrived he was advised that Turner had left the area. Officer Dodson spotted the vehicle on Freeman street and attempted to stop the driver who drove away. The officer finally got Turner to stop and arrested him. As the officer was attempting to handcuff Turner the man allegedly fought with the officer to prevent him from handcuffing him.
The victim was transported by ambulance to the Nashville hospital where he underwent surgery to repair his injuries.
Turner is being held under on bond of $37,000. He is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Feb. 15.

A Tullahoma man has been charged with rape of a neighbor.
Hershel Brian Hill, 48, of Wheeler Street, Tullahoma was arrested Jan. 25 in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred January 2016. According to police, Hill had been living out of state and had not been located. He was finally located and returned to Coffee County to face the charge.
According to a warrant obtained by Tullahoma Police Investigator Rana Pawlowski, the woman stated that she wanted to get a cigarette and borrow a DVD. The warrant alleges that Hill invited her into his residence.
While the victim was in the residence, Hill allegedly performed a nonconsensual sexual act on the woman as well as raping her. The victim, who was 18 at the time, told the investigator that she “protested and asked him to stop.”
The victim was transported to Harton Hospital where she was treated for rape.
Hill was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Feb. 26.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning parents about their children’s vulnerability to online sextortion.
The agency highlights the case of a 32-year-old Mexican citizen living in Georgia as a permanent resident as an example of why parents need to monitor their child’s internet access and social media activities.
According to the FBI, Gerardo Uribe posed as a 13-year-old boy and later as a 25-year-old when he coerced a 12-year-old girl to produce child pornography and send it to him. The FBI says Uribe was able to get the girl to send a partially nude image of herself in 2014 and was eventually able to gain access to one of her social media accounts by resetting her password and locking her out.
With the photo and control of her account, Uribe extorted the girl to send four sexually explicit images. The girl’s parents found out and reported the crime to law enforcement.
Uribe was arrested and sentenced last November to 10 years in prison. Once his term is served, he will be deported. Investigators found Uribe also tried to victimize at least one other girl.
The FBI says this is just one example of a “growing problem on social media sites.”
Last year, middle Tennessee authorities said the suspect and victim of a sex crime were both victims of an international online sextortion scheme. International law enforcement said Paul Leighton, of the United Kingdom, posed as a child and forced kids to abuse other kids by using blackmail. Two of those victims were from Bedford County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to tirelessly investigate a person(s) that is contacting several young children in the area. The person is sending very crude sexual and threating messages through various social media and online gaming sites.
They are also asking parents to pay close attention to your child’s cellular phone especially text messages.
The FBI advises parents to routinely monitor internet access and keep computers in common areas of the home. The agency also suggests parents insist on knowing passwords and PIN codes to any online devices.

A Franklin County man was injured Monday after crashing his motorcycle in a wooded area in Warren County.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 42 year-old Robert Langford of Belvidere, Tn. was observed speeding on his 2006 Kawasaki motorcycle on Highway 70 going westbound. When a trooper attempted to make a traffic stop, the cyclist turned around and headed outbound on Highway 70 and turned on to Highway 30 going into Van Buren County. The pursuit eventually led back into Warren County, where Langford lost control of his motorcycle, went off the road and crashed into the woods.
Authorities say Langford was driving on a revoked license and was wanted in other counties on charges that included aggravated assault.
Langford was taken by EMS to River Park Hospital.
The incident remains under investigation.

WMSR News reported that on January 8, 2018 an arrest warrant was filed against Jewell Daniel Frame age 71 of Suits Me Lane Manchester. The warrant stated that Frame on multiple occasions engaged in unlawful sexual activity with a victim that was approximately age 5 (2004) and continuing until the female victim was approximately age 12 in 2011. Frame was charged by Deputy Brandon Reed of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department with Rape of a Child.
Last week in Coffee County Court, Frame pled guilty in a plea deal that will send him to prison for 40 years.