Category: News

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival officials report that a man in his 40’s died around 2 a.m. Friday morning.
According to various reports, officials say the death appeared to be related to a pre-existing cardiac issue.
The man was aided by the festival’s medical staff quickly after collapsing.
The man’s identity was not released.
Bonnaroo officials reported no other major health-related issues at this year’s festival as of Sunday afternoon.
In other Bonnaroo news Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves reports that his department had issued 120 citations as of Sunday morning and the total amount of arrests was 66 as of Sunday. The arrests total is for all law enforcement agencies.
We’ll have an update on arrests and citations on Tuesday’s news.

Late last week Tennessee State Trooper Tommy Lyles stopped a black Cadillac Escalade on I-24 eastbound around the 124 mile marker in Coffee County. The vehicle was speeding doing 90mph in 60 mph construction zone. The subject initially stopped, but it was later discovered that the driver was wanted out of Wisconsin for a probation violation, on a charge of armed robbery. The trooper then noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and requested a K9 unit from the Coffee County Sheriff’s department to assist with the stop. The trooper then advised dispatch that he was in pursuit of the Cadillac Escalade. It was at this time there were 2 Coffee County Sheriff’s units assisting the trooper. The trooper then advised that the subject crashed at the 134.5 mile marker and continued on eastbound. As the pursuit reached the 134 mile marker the Monteagle Police officers who were assisting the trooper as well, attempted to box the vehicle in and were almost struck by the fleeing suspect. The driver then lost control of the vehicle and started to spin, the vehicle was struck on the driver’s side door by a Monteagle PD unit. The driver of the vehicle, then attempted to back over and ram the Monteagle PD unit. Trooper Lyles then struck the vehicle in the driver’s side door and the Coffee County unit struck the vehicle in the rear, pinning the fleeing vehicle in the ditch. The pursuit reached speeds up to 108 mph, and lasted approximately 11 minutes. There were 3 total occupants in the fleeing vehicle, who did not sustain any injuries and were all taken into custody. The warrant out of Wisconsin was confirmed and a hold was put on the driver Bernard Drew Levell Jr. He’ll be extradited back to Wisconsin. He was booked at the Coffee County Jail under a $525,000 bond.

About 7:40 a.m. Thursday morning Franklin County deputies and emergency personnel responded to a call about a body being found in the water.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department is now investigating the drowning of Vernon Odie Wadford, 48, of Winchester.
The man was found floating under the Devils Step boat dock early Thursday morning.
A witness told authorities that while fishing he observed a body floating in the water under the boat ramp.

Gov. Haslam signed the Victim Life Photo Bill last week, allowing a living photo of a murder victim to be shown to a jury. It’s something that judges often would not allow before because they felt it could be considered prejudicial. Attorneys on both sides say this new law does not mean we are about to see more guilty verdicts to come out of murder trials. But advocates say this is a huge win for victims’ rights. Supporters of the law say that the families of murder victims, seeing one smiling picture of their loved one means a lot during a trial. Typically, a jury only sees the gruesome crime scene and autopsy pictures. Prosecutors will decide case-by-case whether or not to use a picture of a victim during trial. The new law takes effect on July 1st.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s department responded to a suspicious person call near the Concord Cemetery and church Thursday morning at 9:46am. When a deputy arrived he discovered a male subject near the church. The man was later identified as Robert Travis Rosson Age 35 with a last known address of Manchester, TN.
According to District Attorney Craig Northcott, Rosson allegedly charged at the deputy with a knife and that’s when the deputy discharged his weapon hitting Rosson.
Rosson was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga for treatment of his injuries. The Coffee County deputy was uninjured and the name of the deputy is being withheld at this time.
The Concord Cemetery and church is located at 80 Concord Rd just off Hwy 55 between Manchester and Tullahoma.

David Jenkins of Manchester will spend life behind bars after being found guilty of murder.
Jenkins was convicted in connection to the murder in Cowan, TN of Corey Matthews in 2013. He was one of four suspects charged in the case.
Matthews’ body was found beaten to death in a cornfield.
Jenkins was found in New Mexico and extradited back to Tennessee for trial. He will be eligible for parole after serving 51 years.

Randy Howard of Lynchburg, a well-known musician, was shot to death by a bounty hunter inside his Moore County home earlier this week. Howard performed music with Willie Nelson and others.
Howard was facing charges in Marion County for fourth offense DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a gun while intoxicated and driving on a revoked license.
Investigators say that allegedly Howard began firing shots first and the bounty hunter returned fire. Both men were hit and Howard died.
The TBI is now investigating.
The bounty hunter claims he fired in self-defense.

Josh Peterson has been named the publisher of the Manchester Times, announced Harry M. Hill, assistant publisher, Lakeway Publishers of Middle Tennessee group, which is parent company of the Times.
Peterson takes over for Jack Owens, who was promoted to oversee operations of The Herald Chronicle, which is another Lakeway Publishers publication in Winchester, Tenn.
Peterson was the Editor of the Manchester Times before this promotion and was the sports editor before that.
WMSR Radio sends out its congratulations to Peterson who is also a sports announcer for Thunder Radio.
Click below for Peterson’s comment on his new title.

 

On Wednesday morning the contracting office at Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) awarded the Test Operations and Sustainment contract; this contract will ensure AEDC remains the nation’s ground test and evaluation facility of choice… today and tomorrow. National Aerospace Solutions, LLC (NAS), Reston VA, a joint venture between Bechtel National, Inc., Sierra Lobo, Inc., and GP Strategies Corp., was awarded a cost-plus-award-fee contract valued at $1.5 billion. NAS will perform work supporting unique test operations and sustainment of the over $10 billion worth of infrastructure at the world’s largest and most complex flight simulation test and evaluation complex. The period of performance is eight years (one base year, three one-year option periods, two one-year award term periods, and two additional one-year option periods) in addition to a 90-day phase-in period. The phase-in period is set to begin July 1, with performance beginning October 1.