Smithville Police Charge Man with Setting Fire in his Mother’s Home

Smithville Police have charged a 19 year old man with domestic assault and aggravated arson for starting a fire in his mother’s home.
Detective Jerry Hutchins made the arrest of Michael J Lee of 114 Village Place on Thursday. According to the warrants, Lee set fire to the bed of his mother, Wyonna Lee, while she and a neighbor were in the home. Ms. Lee stated that her son had become very violent before the fire occurred and had destroyed furniture and other items. He also told her he was going to burn her alive and she stated she was afraid of her son. The Smithville Fire Department was called to the scene to put out the bed. His bond was set at $60,000 and his court date in General Session Court is November 19th.
Meanwhile, 21 year old Jessie Edward Randolph of 224 Sun Valley Road, Sparta and 21 year old Joey Dewayne Kirby of 391 Disneyland Road Sparta were arrested on Wednesday, November 4th for theft of property. According to the report, Officer Matt Holmes was at Wal-Mart issuing a citation for shoplifting when two Wal-Mart employees flagged down Holmes and Officer Bryant at the entrance to the store. There they pointed to two male subjects who had just left Wal-Mart. A security officer at the store said he saw the two men leave the building carrying stolen merchandise. Officer Holmes asked one of the suspects, Kirby, if he had taken any stolen merchandise from the store. Kirby replied that he had and then returned the stolen goods he had in his possession. But the store manager told Officer Holmes that while he saw the men steal two fish take filters, Kirby had only returned one of them. Holmes asked the other suspect, Randolph if he had taken any merchandise from the store to which he replied “no”. During a pat down search, Officer Holmes felt a box in Randolph’s jacket pocket that seemed to be like the box recovered off of Kirby. The manager then told Officer Holmes that the store only prosecuted for stolen merchandise valued at over $25.00 and these items taken were only valued at $12.37 each. Officer Holmes told Randolph that if he would return the merchandise to Wal-Mart there would be no prosecution. Randolph replied that he did not have any stolen merchandise on him. At that point, Officer Holmes placed Randolph under arrest for theft of property and retrieved the stolen merchandise from his right jacket pocket. All restitution was made at the store. The other suspect, Kirby was arrested on active warrants including two for failure to appear in Putnam County. He was also cited for theft under $500.00.
Also on Wednesday, 20 year old Clinton Lane Cope of 1294 Midway Road was cited by Detective Jerry Hutchins to appear in General Sessions Court on December 17th for shoplifting as he attempted to leave Wal-Mart with shoes that he had not paid for.
31 year old James Fredrick Summers of 457 Hodges Road was cited by Officer Matt Holmes on Wednesday to appear in General Sessions Court on November 9th for shoplifting as he attempted to leave Wal-Mart with five DVD’s that he had not paid for.
34 year old Karen Lynn Welsh of 136 Bobby Hayes Road, Dowelltown was cited by Officer Holmes on Wednesday to appear in General Sessions Court on November 9th for shoplifting as she was seen putting numerous items in her purse in an attempt to not pay for them.
42 year old Melissa Kay Walther of 854 Parkway Drive was arrested by Officer Scott Davis on Wednesday for a second offense of driving under the influence. According to the report, Officer Davis was dispatched to the Exxon in reference to a possible DUI. He made contact with the defendant’s vehicle at the intersection of Highway 56 & Highway 70. The defendant, Walther was observed by a witness backing over a curb in the parking lot of Exxon. The complainant stated that Walther’s speech was slurred and she appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Officer Davis followed the vehicle until he made the traffic stop at North Side Elementary. Walther performed poorly on the field sobriety tasks. She had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath and her eyes were watery and bloodshot. She admitted to consuming a small shot of wine earlier in the day. Walther has a prior DUI conviction in Clay County. She was cited for refusing to submit to a breath test. Her bond was set at $3,000 and her court date in General Sessions Court is November 19th.
47 year old Tina K Stephens of 816 Parkway Drive was arrested Wednesday by Officer Scott Davis for Public Intoxication. According to the report, Stephens was a passenger of a Melissa Kay Walther’s vehicle which was stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence. She admitted to consuming several beers and was obviously under the influence. She was advised on several occasions to stay in the vehicle but she got out of the vehicle on two separate occasions. Stephens was placed under arrest for public intoxication. Her bond was set at $1,000 and her court date in General Sessions Court is November 19th
Also on Wednesday, 26 year old Jason Lynn Knowles of 846 Anthony Avenue was pulled over by Sergeant Joey Jones where it was discovered that Knowles’ driver license was suspended. His bond was set at $1,000 and his court date in City Court is November 18th..
Meanwhile, anyone having information on the following offenses should please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210
On Sunday October 25th at 520 Miller Road, a truck belonging to Eddie Royce Colwell was vandalized by someone using a sharp object to scratch the paint on every section of the vehicle
On Sunday October 26th, someone broke into Curtis Builders Supply. Nothing was taken in the break in but several hundreds of dollars of damage was done to the building.
On Monday October 27th, someone broke into Pamela Sosa’s vehicle and took her CD player while she was in Wal-Mart shopping.