Vacant Mobile Home Destroyed by Fire

The DeKalb County Fire Department responded to a vacant mobile home fire Monday evening around. 7:45 p.m. on Bright Hill Road.
Chief Donny Green says according to neighbors, the structure was in the process of being torn down. The mobile home reportedly belonged to Brian Harriot and was situated on the property of Dr. J.C. Wall.
Neighbors discovered the fire and reported it to DeKalb County 911. The mobile home was fully involved upon the fire department’s arrival and the firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze that was beginning to spread into a surrounding field.
The Short Mountain Highway, Midway, and Cookeville Highway Stations of the DeKalb County Fire Department responded along with THP and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Johnny Lee Williams

62 year old Johnny Lee Williams of King Ridge Road, Dowelltown died Saturday at his residence. He was a respiratory therapist and a member of the Smithville Church of Christ. A private graveside service will be held and Dan Gulley will officiate. No visitation will be held with the Williams family. He was preceded in death by his father, William Dallas Williams and a sister, Virginia Nokes. Survivors include his wife, Joannie Williams of Dowelltown. Two daughters, Amy and her husband Patrick Cripps of Smithville and Shelli Williams of Murfreesboro. Grandchildren, Callie Cripps and Zoe Cripps. His mother, Mildred Williams. An aunt and uncle, Jewell and Earnest Davis of McMinnville. An uncle, Aubrey Williams of McMinnville. A nephew, Charles Nokes of Smithville. The family requests that donations be made, in lieu of flowers, to a memorial fund in memory of Johnny at the funeral home. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

Baby Boy Sosa

A graveside service for the stillborn infant of Lillian Elizebeth Sosa will be Monday, January 28th, at 3:00 p.m. at DeKalb Cemetery. There will be no visitation at the funeral home. Everyone will assemble at the cemetery for the service. The child was stillborn on October 26th.

Ten Defendants Sentenced in Criminal Court Monday

Ten people appeared in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday on a variety of charges and were sentenced by Judge Leon Burns, Jr.
32 year old Steven Anderson pleaded guilty to statutory rape and evading arrest. He received a two year sentence in each case to serve. The sentences are to run concurrently as a single two year term. Anderson’s name must also be included on the state’s sex offender registry. He was given credit for 170 days of jail time served.
25 year old Jonathan Kyle McCormick pleaded guilty to three counts of theft over $500 and three counts of theft over $1,000. He was granted judicial diversion for a period of three years. The term will run concurrent with a two year sentence against him in Warren County. He will be on supervised probation by TDOC and must make restitution to the victims in the amount of $2,744. He must perform 100 hours of community service work.
30 year old Robin L, Lawson pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule II controlled substance and received a five year sentence, suspended with one year of probation supervised by community corrections and the remaining four years supervised by DOC probation. Lawson must perform 100 hours of community service work and make restitution of $110 to the victim. Lawson was given credit for 28 days of jail time served.
33 year old Robin Green pleaded guilty by information to violation of the sex offender registry, simple possession, and resisting arrest. Green received a two year sentence in two of the cases and six months in the other case, all to run concurrently as a two year sentence, and all suspended except for 120 days to serve. Green was given jail credit of 93 days.
23 year old Ricky D. Johnson II pleaded guilty to statutory rape and received a two year sentence, suspended to time served from November 9th, 2006 to January 28th, 2008. He will be on TDOC probation and is under a restraining order to keep away from the victim.
42 year old Roxanne Hendrixson pleaded guilty to simple possession and drug paraphernalia. She received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days in each case with 45 days to serve. The sentences are to run consecutively or back to back. She must serve the first 44 days consecutively and the remainder on weekends. Her fine is $900. She must perform 25 hours of community service work and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. She was given jail credit of six days.
25 year old Nicholas Hollingsworth pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule II controlled substance and received a five year sentence in each case to run concurrently, all suspended except for 30 days on weekends with one year of supervised probation by community corrections. For the remaining four years, he will be on supervised probation by DOC. He was fined $2,000 and must make restitution of $80. Hollingsworth must perform 100 hours of community service work and he was given credit for seven days of jail time served.
27 year old Jeremie Johnson pleaded guilty to violation of an order of protection and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days to serve. The sentence is to run concurrently with another violation of probation term he is currently serving. He was given credit for time served from June 13th, 2007 to January 28th, 2008.
30 year old David Neisz, Jr. pleaded guilty to violation of the sex offender law, theft over $1,000, burglary, and aggravated statutory rape. He received a total sentence of six years but was given jail credit from July 7th, 2007 to January 28th, 2008.
30 year old Ernest Hill pleaded guilty to escape and theft over $1,000. He received a three year sentence on the theft charge, all suspended except for 60 days to serve, and a two year sentence on the escape charge, all suspended except for 90 days to serve. The sentences will run consecutively or back to back. Hill must perform 100 hours of community service work and he was given jail credit from October 8th, 2007 to January 28th, 2008.

Robinson’s Indicted in Cannon County Prescription Drug Scheme

The arrest of a Smithville man last month by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has led to more charges against him and his wife in Cannon County.
40 year old Mark (Truck) Robinson has been indicted by a Cannon County Grand Jury on charges of theft and conspiracy to commit theft over $10,000. He is free on a $10,000 bond.
Robinson’s wife, 37 year old Kyra Robinson, is indicted on 268 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud (xanax) prescriptions and one count of theft and one count of conspiracy to commit theft over $10,000. She is free on a $200,000 bond.
The Robinson’s will be arraigned on February 15th.
Kyra Robinson, who was working as a nurse for the Cannon County Jail, is charged with obtaining prescriptions in the name of Cannon County inmates, and then bringing the prescriptions home to her husband in Smithville, who allegedly sold them.
The case stemmed from a local investigation.
In December, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at the home of the Robinson’s on Anthony Avenue in Smithville.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says officers made at least one drug buy from Robinson’s residence and during the search, they found 193 Xanax pills, 203 empty prescription bottles with numerous individuals’ names on them, hemostats, rolling papers, roach clips, syringes, and a pill grinder.
In the December case, Mark Robinson was charged with possession of a schedule IV drug (Xanax) for sale and delivery and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $26,500
Officers seized the cash from Robinson.
Sheriff Ray says it was during the December investigation that he learned that the empty prescription bottles found at Robinson’s home had the names of several Cannon County inmates on them.
He then contacted the TBI and the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department with this discovery.
The following prepared statement was released to WBRY by Cannon County Sheriff Billy Nichols. ” During the week of December 14, 2007 I (Sheriff Nichols) started an internal investigation on my jail nurse, Kyra Robinson. It was brought to my attention that she was possibly obtaining narcotics under the authority of a doctor and Cannon County (but apparently unbeknown to the doctor and Cannon County officials).
With the assistance of DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray and the T.B.I. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation), I discovered that she was in-fact obtaining narcotics at Woodson’s Pharmacy here in Cannon County. These narcotics turned out to be Xanax. My investigation revealed that Ms. Robinson has been obtaining these drugs and charging them to the county. I was able to stop her illegal activity and determined that she defrauded the county out of thousands of dollars this fiscal year and stopped the account before any further funds could be depleted from my budget.
On January 24th, the Cannon County Grand Jury returned a sealed indictment charging her with 268 counts of fraud, one count of theft and one count of conspiracy to commit theft. She was arrested on January 25th and was released on a $200,000.00 bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned on 15 February 2008.
Kyra Robinson resigned her position as an employee of the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department after she was confronted with the evidence against her.
This incident is still under investigation by T.B.I.

Hunter Loren Davis

16 year old Hunter Loren Davis of Smithville died Saturday night in a traffic accident. He was a member of the Dry Creek Baptist Church and a sophomore at DeKalb County High School where he was a member of the FFA. The funeral will be Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at DeKalb Funeral Chapel. Donald Owens will officiate and burial will be in Salem Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 pm. and Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 2:00 p.m. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Garland Cripps. He is survived by his parents, Ray and Annette Davis of Smithville. A brother, Tanner Davis of Smithville. A sister, Christian Davis of Atlanta, Georgia. His maternal grandmother, Violet Cripps of Smithville. His paternal grandparents, Ann Baldwin of Nashville and Raymond Davis of Nashville. A niece, Layla Davis of Atlanta, Georgia. Special girlfriend, Andrea Stringer of Smithville.His paternal great grandmother, Beatrice Moore of Nashville. Uncle, Stevie and his wife Brenda Cripps of Smithville. Aunts, Terresa Ayers of Smyrna and Lucy Davis of Donelson. Cousins, Chris Wood, Marcus and Corey Ayers, and numerous great aunts and uncles and a host of friends also survive. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.
A Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established in memory of Hunter Davis. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the scholarship fund.

Mattie Frances Malone

82 year old Mattie Frances Malone of Alexandria died Saturday at the Boulevard Terrace Nursing Center in Murfreesboro. The body is at Avant Funeral Home in Alexandria where the funeral will be Monday at 2:00 p.m. Elder Barry Whitaker and Elder Frank Randolph will officiate and burial will be in Hillview Memorial Cemetery in Alexandria. The Malone family will receive friends at Avant Funeral Home on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and on Monday from 10:00 a.m. until the service time at 2:00 p.m. She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn and Leonard Saddler of Nashville. A granddaughter, Hana and her husband Joseph Fagan of Nashville. Brothers, Jimmy Curtis of Alexandria, Ralph and his wife Faye Curtis of Alexandria, Roy Dale and his wife Linda Curtis of Watertown. Sisters, Gladys Driver, Gracie Henley, and Amy Johnson all of Alexandria. A brother-in-law, Albert James Malone of Nashville. A sister-in-law, Willie Belle Harvey of Alexandria. Avant Funeral Home in Alexandria is in charge of the arrangements.

Jack Hudson Grandstaff

71 year old Jack Hudson Grandstaff of Alexandria died Friday at the Quality Care Health Center in Lebanon. He was a DeKalb County native, a car salesman, and a member of the New Hope Baptist Church. The funeral will be Monday at 3:00 p.m. at Hunter Funeral Home in Watertown. Danny Sellars will officiate and burial will be in the New Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Monday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. He was preceded in death by a son, Jackie Grandstaff; his mother, Ruth Green Grandstaff; a brother, Jerry Grandstaff; a great granddaughter, Shaelynn Linon; and a stepdaughter, Kimberly Collier. Survivors include children, Debbie and her husband Gary Jones and Jan and her husband Mike Grandstaff Dykes all of Lebanon. Friends, Kim and her husband Lonnie Sadler of Lebanon. His father, Elbert Grandstaff of Alexandria. Six grandchildren, Gary and his wife Melissa Jones, Melanie Jones, Jacquelynn and her husband Chris Linton, Hunt and Brittany Stutts, and Leslie Sadler. Six great grandchildren, Chase, Branden and Ashtyen Jones, Anthony Sells, Braelynn Linton, and Wyatt Jones. One niece and three nephews. Hunter Funeral Home in Watertown is in charge of the arrangements.

Senator Beavers Presents Community Enhancement Grant to County Fire Department

State Senator Mae Beavers presented the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department a check for more than $24,000 Saturday night during the annual banquet of the firefighters.
Senator Beavers says this is money from the state’s allocation of community enhancement grants. “Last year as many of you know we had a $1.3 billion dollar surplus in the state. One of the things I have been pushing for a long time is the half cent off on the sales tax on food. I was able to get that plus a sales tax holiday in March. The other legislators, instead of giving me the other half cent (reduction), thought that we should have community enhancement grants to give out. So Donny applied for a community enhancement grant and tonight I have a check to present to the Fire Department for $24,555.”
County Fire Chief Donny Green says this money will be put to good use to help complete a training room at the fire department’s main station on King Ridge Road. “This building project we’re on, we’ve got money allocated to put the walls up but we’ve got a lot of work to do inside and this is what this money (grant) is going to be for, building our training room and finishing out the project. It’s not just something for the fire department, we use it (building) for community projects. The boy scouts actually use it to have their den meetings. We do the CPR courses there and the sheriff’s department is always welcome to us it along with any other agency. The ambulance service also uses it so it’s an emergency facility and community facility. We’re going to use this (grant) to make it a nice place that we all can use and our community can be proud of.”
Green also thanked Senator Beavers for helping the county obtain the deed for the property where the main station is located. The property, for many years, belonged to the state and formerly served as the TDOT state highway garage in DeKalb County.

Young Named DeKalb County Firefighter of the Year

Lieutenant Mark Young was named “County Fire Fighter of the Year” Saturday night during the department’s annual award’s banquet held at the Smithville Church of God annex.
County Fire Chief Donny Green, who presided over the ceremony, said Young earned the award for having put in 110 hours of training, the most of any firefighter except the “Rookie Fire Fighter of the Year”.
Shawn Puckett of the Midway Station received the “Rookie” award which goes to the fire fighter with the most hours of training during their first year as a member of the department. Green says Puckett, in his first year, put in 132 hours of training.
Roy Merriman, Assistant Fire Chief presented the Git R Done Award to Lieutenant Anthony Boyd. This award is given to the firefighter who performs services above and beyond the call of duty for the fire department.
Merriman also presented several “Years of Service Awards”
Those earning five year service pins are Billy Crymes, Calvin Martin, Jimmy Martin, Billy Parker, James Pennington, Tim Reynolds, Kenneth Waggoner, and Philip Waggoner.
Ronald Merriman received his ten year service pin.
A fifteen year service pin was presented to Wayne Adcock
Bob Rice accepted his twenty year service pin
A thirty year service pin will be presented to Hugh Washer.
Honorary Lifetime Membership Awards were presented for exemplary service to Larry Evans, a former County Fire Chief; to County Mayor Mike Foster; and to the current County Fire Chief Donny Green.