Category: News

On Tuesday (March 14, 2017) just after 6pm Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Harmon Campbell responded to I-24 around the 108 mile marker in regards to a driver of a Chrysler 300 shooting into a vehicle. The victim advised the suspect shot his window out of his vehicle while on Interstate 24. Corporal Campbell says in his report that he watched the victim’s vehicle changing lanes and the vehicle described as the suspect’s vehicle following it at a high rate of speed weaving in and out of traffic. Campbell observed the victims vehicle pass his patrol car and observed a hole in the passenger front door with the window broken out. The suspect vehicle then passed his vehicle in the left lane and Campbell initiated his lights and siren and gave pursuit. The suspect attempted to evade by passing between a tractor trailer and a camper, Campbell requested any unit that had stop sticks to assist in the apprehension of the suspect. Campbell pursued the suspect vehicle to the area of the 110 exit where the suspect turned his right turn signal as if he was going to exit then pulled back into Campbell’s lane of traffic. The corporal attempted to force the suspect over to the shoulder of the road were his vehicle and the suspect made contact causing the suspect to lose control and spin out. John Milton Davis age 27 of Blue Willow Ct, Antioch, TN was taken into custody at the scene without injury. Deputies located a semi-automatic pistol wedged between the center console and the driver’s seat.

Tennessee Highway Patrol was notified and responded to the scene where they conducted an investigation. Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department was notified due to the crime of shooting into a vehicle was alleged to have occurred on or about mile marker 83 on I-24. Harmon said he took possession of the 9mm pistol and placed it into evidence at the Coffee County Jail. Coffee County Investigator Kelly Smith responded and made contact with the victim and photographed the bullet hole in the victim’s car.
Davis was charged with reckless endangerment, evading arrest and illegal possession of weapon. His bond was set at $60,000 and he’ll appear in court April 17, 2017.
Rutherford County investigators will continue to look into the shooting incident and will be working with Coffee County investigators.
No injuries were report from the incident.

A 77 year-old man went missing late Tuesday night. Charles E Harrell from Hillsboro left his residence just before midnight. The man’s daughter stated her dad would leave the residence and be gone for 15 minutes or so in the past but has always returned. Due to Mr Harrell’s medical conditions, the family requested that a missing person’s report be filed and a “be on the lookout” went out statewide.
We happy to report that Mr Harrell was found safe in Knoxville and his family is bringing him home.

Sixty-eight cats were found living inside a home this week in Tullahoma that had dangerously high levels of ammonia gas.
The Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) and animal control worked to rescue the cats, who were surrendered by the property owner.
Officials say the cats, which included newborn litters and pregnant females were running loose inside the home.
According to the property owner, she took in a few homeless cats four years ago. The cats have since multiplied into over 60.
ARC says all of the cats exhibit signs of upper respiratory infections due to the condition of the home. Some also suffer from other medical conditions like eye and bladder infections or external and internal parasites.
“These conditions are typical of animal hoarding,” said ARC President Scotlund Haisley.
In this rescue, dubbed Operation Nine Lives, ARC has safely removed the cats from the property and transported them to a center in Lebanon.
Each animal will receive a thorough veterinary exam, appropriate vaccinations, and any necessary medical treatment.
ARC will provide daily care until the animals are placed with shelter and rescue organizations that will ultimately adopt them into permanent, loving homes.
For people wishing to foster or adopt, ARC will publish its list of shelter and rescue placement partners on its Facebook page once the cats are transferred to these groups.

Gov. Bill Haslam says he approves of changes to his transportation funding proposal made in the state Senate earlier this week.
Haslam had originally proposed raising the tax on gasoline by 7 cents per gallon and diesel by 12 cents. The Senate Transportation Committee voted to change the gas tax hike to 6 cents and diesel to 10 cents, phased in over three years.
The panel also added a deeper cut to the sales tax on groceries and added more property tax relief for the elderly, veterans and the disabled.
Haslam said that while a smaller tax increase will mean less revenue to start tackling the state’s $10 billion backlog in road and bridge projects, but he’s willing go along with the changes if it helps the projects.

A Morrison man was arrested March 10 and booked into the Coffee County Jail after deputies found meth in his residence.
Joseph Lee Holland, 41, of McMinnville Highway Morrison was charged with manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance and unlawful drug paraphernalia use and activities.
The arrest came after Coffee County sheriff’s investigators served a search warrant at the residence and allegedly found a bag of white crystal like substance weighing two grams believed to be methamphetamines.
According to the warrant Holland admitted that the meth belong to him. The officers also found two glass pipes and a red straw with residue at the residence as well.
Bond was set at $52,500 and he is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court on April 10.

Two men were arrested after a disturbance March 13 at Cedar Lane Apartments in Tullahoma.
Calvin Bernard Pettway, 33, of Mobile, Alabama and Christopher Allan Lyles, 34, of Cedar Lane were arrested following a disturbance involving the discharge of two pistols at the apartment complex.
According to a report by Tullahoma Police Officer Taylor Gannon, Lyles was asleep in the apartment when Pettway pulled his leg. Lyles told the officer that he didn’t know who it was and fired his weapon in the direction of his feet. Lyles said the shot was a “warning shot.” The shot struck a television in the bedroom. The two engaged in an altercation when Pettway fire his weapon toward Lyles and shot the glass out of the back sliding door. Pettway left the apartment.
Lyles was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a weapon while under the influence. His bond was set at $45,000 and he is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court on March 16.
Pettyway was charged with possession of schedule VI, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a weapon while under the influence. His bond was set at $46,000 and he is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court March 16.

On Saturday (March 11, 2017) deputies with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Smith Chapel Rd to follow up on a tip of a wanted person and narcotic activity. Upon arriving at the residence, deputies located a female identified as a Sonya Edinger, who had active warrants for Failure to Appear and Violation of Probation, and Christopher Nelson.
Upon entering the residence, deputies saw evidence of narcotic activity in plain view; as a result of further investigation, deputies seized 24 grams of ICE/Meth, Hydrocodone tablets, and Xanax tablets.
Both individuals were charged with multiple narcotic violations and are incarcerated in Bedford County Jail on combined bonds of over $200,000.

Tennessee’s infrastructure isn’t doing too well overall. In a report card released by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Volunteer state gets a “C” letter grade.
For the 8th year in a row, Tennessee’s roads earned a mediocre grade. The report states that due to inadequate funding, roads are starting to show some wear and tear.
11 percent of Tennessee’s major roads and highways have pavement in poor condition, while nearly 30 percent are in fair condition.
The report recommends that additional funding is needed for highway safety and goes so far as to say the gas tax should be increased. Tennessee’s current gasoline tax is 21.4 cents per gallon, while the national average is 28.1 cents per gallon.

Due to the continued increase in full-time student enrollment, Motlow State Community College is inviting anyone interested in potentially becoming an adjunct faculty member to a Career Fair on Tuesday, March 28, at 6 p.m. on the Smyrna campus.
Attendees will have an opportunity to meet Motlow’s academic team and learn from current adjunct faculty members about employment opportunities. Refreshments will be served.
Adjunct faculty teach part-time for Motlow College and are allowed to teach a maximum of nine hours in the fall and nine hours in the spring for a total of 18 hours per academic year.
Positions available include teaching day, evening, weekend and online classes at the Smyrna campus and the Fayetteville, McMinnville and Moore County campuses. Motlow has previously held adjunct open houses at its three other campuses.
Course subjects include: accounting, anthropology, art, economics, French, music, physical science, physics, biology, business, chemistry, clinical nursing (BSN accepted, MSN preferred), geography, geology, health/physical education, history, political science, psychology, sociology, computer science, information systems, speech, theatre, criminal justice, mass communications and mathematics.
A master’s degree in any of the aforementioned areas of study or a master’s degree in any area with 18 graduate semester hours in one of the areas is required to apply.
The nursing program is seeking qualified nurses with a minimum of three years’ experience in acute care settings and a BSN, although a MSN is preferred.
To learn more about the exciting opportunities at Motlow State or to RSVP to this event, please contact Estelle Davis at edavis@mscc.edu or call 615-220-7802.

On Friday, Coffee County deputies Corporal Keith Raney and Deputy Eva Villegas responded to Pete Sain Road in Manchester for a suspicious subject standing on the complainant’s porch and looking through the door window.
When the deputies arrived they made contact with the male who was coming from around the back of the residence.
According to the arrest warrant David Cordell Harper age 30 Mountain View Lane Manchester had already been reported being on the property and committing a lewd act in September of 2016.
Complainant said she feared bodily harm from the subject.
Harper was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing and stalking. His bond was set $17,500 and he’ll in court on April 3, 2017.