Category: News

A Grundy County assistant football coach and teacher at Swiss Memorial Elementary School is facing statutory rape charges.
Deputies arrested Tommy Andrews, 41, on Sunday and charged him with one count of aggravated statutory rape and one count of aggravated statutory rape by an authority figure.
Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum says, “We received a complaint last week and we presented the case to the district attorney’s office before charges were filed”.
Shrum says during the process of his department’s investigation his officers learned a complaint was made to the Department of Children’s Services about Andrews on May 7.
New Grundy County Director of Schools Jessie Kinsey said in a released statement. “An employee of the Grundy County Schools has been charged with criminal activity against one of our students. Of course, this person is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty in a court of law.
“We are offering counseling to the student, and we stand ready to cooperate with law enforcement officials as necessary.
Andrews has been released from jail on a $60,000 bond. As part of the conditions of his bond, Andrews must wear a GPS monitoring device to ensure he stays away from the victim in the case.

If your finances feel tight this holiday, you’re in good company. Tennesseans – and specifically those living in Knoxville and Memphis – have some of the lowest holiday budgets, when compared with 563 cities nationwide, according to a report released by WalletHub, a website providing information to consumers and small-business owners. Spokeswoman Jill Gonzalez said WalletHub studied average monthly expenses, income and debt to income ratios to arrive at its conclusions. “In Memphis, the average consumer can only afford to spend about $98 on their holiday spending, Knoxville more like $80,” she said, “so both are less than one-eighth of what the average consumer spends.” According to the National Retail Federation, holiday spending this year will average more than $800 for each person. Americans are projected to end the year with more than $60 billion in additional credit card debt. Gonzalez said the small amount of money Tennessee consumers actually have to spend leads many to accrue holiday debt, which is difficult to pay off after the wrapping paper is off and gifts are given. “What this means is for people to really be careful on their holiday spending,” she said. “A lot of times, we see credit-card debt really rack up during the month of December alone, and of course that interest carries on far beyond the holiday season.” To stay in budget, experts recommend asking family and friends if they’re interested in reducing gift expectations this year, making a shopping list, shopping online to avoid impulse purchases and keeping an eye on free shipping and coupon codes.

According to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Randy Euler, a 2003 Mustang driven by 28 year-old Eric R Anderson of Manchester was traveling at a high rate of speed on Powers Bridge Rd in Manchester on Thursday night around 7:30pm.
The report says Anderson lost control of the vehicle, struck a tree on the driver’s side. The vehicle then flipped and came to rest with the driver underneath the vehicle. Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene. An 11-year-old passenger in the car, was flown to Vanderbilt for treatment of his injuries. He was listed in serious condition Friday afternoon, according to Vanderbilt officials.

Brent McCawley a Tennessee State Trooper assigned to Coffee County (but on leave of absence) was arrested on Thursday by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for theft of property over $1,000 and three counts of official misconduct.
The arrest are for indictments issued by the Coffee County Grand Jury. He is accused of stealing drugs designated for training of his drug dog and using the drugs.
McCawley age 30 was booked into the Coffee County Jail on the charges. He made bond of $10,000.
Trooper McCawley was hired as a state trooper on January 22, 2012. His first assignment was at the Coffee County scales. In 2014 McCawley was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division I-Plus Team in Coffee County.

Authorities say 11-year-old Sienna Owens died after she was shot in Estill Springs Friday evening.
Deputies located the victim in a garage with a gunshot wound to her upper back.
According to Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller, a responding deputy attempted to perform CPR.
Sienna was transported to Southern Tennessee Medical Center where she died.
An autopsy will be performed to determine if the shooting was accidental or intentional. Authorities are also working to determine if it was neglectful.
Authorities say she did not live at the home where the shooting occurred and that they know who the shooter is.
The investigation is ongoing.

A hunter was shot in Franklin County late Friday afternoon.
Authorities said it occurred in the UT Farm area around 4:20 p.m.
According to Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller, a hunter shot the victim in the knee thinking it was a deer.
The victim was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment. His condition was not immediately known.
Additional information was not released.

An investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with the Shelbyville Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has resulted in a Fayetteville man being arrested and charged with especially aggravated burglary.
At the request of 17th District Attorney General Rob Carter, TBI Special Agents, working alongside detectives with the Shelbyville Police Department, began investigating the September 14th homicide of 45-year-old Angela Kibble. The victim was found deceased in her residence at 800 Belmont Avenue in Shelbyville by a neighbor. During the course of the investigation, Special Agents developed information that Desean Askins, 25, was among several individuals who had entered the victim’s home and were present at the time of her death. Three other males were arrested on the same charge last week.
On Wednesday, Askins was arrested and charged with one count of Especially Aggravated Burglary. He was booked into the Bedford County Jail on a $200,000 bond.

On Wednesday morning Corporal Jim O’Neal with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department responded to 1540 Panhandle Rd concerning an armed robbery. When O’Neal arrived at the scene in the northern part of the county, he was met by a home health worker with A+ Medical in the yard of the home. She told the deputy that Barbara Jean Johnson was in the house and she had been assaulted and had been robbed of her medication. O’Neal learned that the incident had occurred around 10pm on Tuesday night. Johnson told the Corporal that two slender black males forced their way into her home while she slept in her bedroom. She says she woke up and faced one of the suspects with a handgun inside a mesh sack. Johnson went on to say the subjects made her lay on the floor at gunpoint and kicked her. The woman told O’Neal that they seemed to know where she kept her medications and went straight to a medication on her coffee table.
Sheriff Department personnel say the home was ransacked and damage was very extensive.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for its help. If you saw or have heard anything that could help authorities in this case, contact Investigator Jason Dendy at 931-570-4427.