Category: News

On Sunday (Jan 3) Coffee County Sheriff’s Corporal Jim O’Neal responded to 828 M.G. England Rd for a burglary in progress. According to O’Neal’s report, when he arrived the owner of the property, Richard Hickman said he was alerted by an alarm on his property that people were inside, he reported a similar incident on Dec. 28, 2015. Hickman reported that a winch had been taken from a shed on the 28th. On the 3rd he watched on surveillance video two people allegedly take a set of tail pipe exhaust and place them in the back of a pickup. It was discovered that the two men were Charles H. Russell along with Corey King. Two females were also in the truck.
The subjects say they were at the residence working on a vehicle for Hickman. Russell states that he made numerous attempts to contact Hickman, who operates a repair shop with no success.
Hickman’s video showed the suspects looking into other cars and opening doors.
Deputy Lee Marcom arrived on the scene and as the investigation was ongoing Corporal O’Neal handed Marcom an Altoids tin that he found in the truck. Marcom opened the container and allegedly found what appeared to be ICE/Methamphetamine inside. None of the subjects would take claim.
It was discovered that Ashley Rose Lopiccolo age 32 of Hidden Valley Circle McMinnville was the owner of the truck and she gave consent to search. Marcom says his found two glass pipes, digital scales, a used syringe and baggies in the purse of Amber Lee Fleming age 33 of Tool Gate Rd Shelbyville. She was seated behind the driver’s seat.
According to Marcom’s report, a loaded syringe was in a black case in the floor of the truck along with $212 in the front door.
All four were charged with manufacture/delivery/sale of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After a pat down a small plastic baggie containing 8 Hydrocodone pills was found on Charles Russell so he was charged with possession of schedule II.
Corey William King age 28 of Midland Fosterville Rd Bell Buckle was also charged with theft of property and Charles Hubert Russell age 37 of New Zion Rd Christiana was also charged with 2 counts of theft of property.
All have court dates of 2-8-16. King remains in jail, the others have bonded out.

On Wednesday afternoon an individual accidently jumped the curb stop at Lincoln Medical Clinic in Manchester and drove their vehicle into the outside wall of the building. According to Manchester Fire Chief George Chambers, damage occurred to the outside and inside of the facility.
The driver of the accident vehicle was transported to Unity Medical Center by Coffee County EMS. Working with the Codes department, the facility has been closed until repairs can be done to the exterior wall. All utilities to the facility have been currently disconnected until repairs can be made. Manchester Fire and Police Departments responded along with Coffee County EMS.

Wednesday night’s Hamilton County School Board meeting followed the closed, Executive Session called after the December 22 assault of an Ooltewah High School basketball player in a Gatlinburg cabin during a basketball tournament.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., Hamilton County School Board members left the private meeting with their attorney to begin the meeting scheduled with the public, to answer their questions.
The meeting was ended in about five minutes, following a prepared statement from a board member, saying that all questions from the public should be directed to the board’s attorneys.
Attorney Scott Bennett said after the meeting the school system has been issued a gag order by officials in Sevier County, Tenn., where the criminal investigation into the three boys charged with aggravated rape and aggravated assault is taking place. The order prevents anyone involved in the case from commenting publicly.
Hours before the board meeting Wednesday, members of Ooltewah High School’s boy’s varsity and junior varsity basketball teams were summoned to the school’s cafeteria and told the remainder of their season is canceled, effective immediately. The freshman team will still be allowed to play.

A mechanical issue may have been the problem that involved the car that was traveling at 90 MPH and allegedly caused the New Year’s Eve day crash that killed three people in Winchester.
The Winchester Police Department has now requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration help with the investigation. Winchester Police Chief Dennis Young said Wednesday that there have been problems reported in the past with the type of car that Mary Parks was driving. Young said that the Kia Optima that Parks was driving has “a history of gas pedals sticking, leading to unwanted acceleration.”
7-year old twins, James and John Hill of Hillsboro along with Parks were killed.
The parents of the twins, Aaron and Lynette Hill remain in Vanderbilt University Medical Center where they were transported after the crash.

Michael Curtis of Tullahoma was convicted Oct. 6, 2015 of voluntary manslaughter. He was accused of the brutal killing of Kayla Qualls Nov. 26, 2012 at his residence on General Street in Tullahoma and then placing her body in her SUV and driving it to an area on Spring Creek Road in Franklin County. Two men discovered Qualls’ body, the mother of Curtis’ grandchildren in the rear seat of her vehicle.
An autopsy revealed that she had been beaten to death.
On Wednesday (Jan 6) Curtis received his sentence. Judge Craig Johnson sent him to a state penitentiary to serve 6 years.

Human-rights organizations increasingly are concerned about what’s happening behind closed doors in homes and businesses across Tennessee. With January being Human Trafficking Prevention Month, people such as Jenna Novak who work with victims of the practice defined as modern-day slavery want people to know the warning signs. “You’ll see signs where individuals that are working either in restaurants or nail salons are not able to look you in the eye,” she said, “or they were living at the location and they’re not allowed to leave that location.” Novak said sex trafficking is easier to recognize and more often reported than labor trafficking. Additional warning signs include the person in question working excessively long or unusual hours, not being allowed breaks or having unusual restrictions, and appearing in poor physical and mental health. To request help or report suspected human trafficking, call the hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text “HELP” to “BeFree” on your cell phone. Novak, a regional specialist for Polaris, the company that implements the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, said it’s important to take action if you suspect someone is caught in a dangerous situation. “Pick up the phone and call the hotline number if they believe that they know of a trafficking situation, a potential trafficking victim,” she said. “They can call us and they can report that to us directly.” Since 2007, the hotline has received more than 96,000 calls, and identified more than 40,000 victims.
More information is online at traffickingresourcecenter.org.