The Smithville Police Department has apparently solved a burglary at Brookview Apartments on Walker Drive with the arrest of a 39 year old man.
Police Chief Thomas J. Stufano says James Nathaniel McKissack, a resident of Brookview Apartments, has been charged with aggravated burglary and resisting arrest. His bond is set at $3,500.
In a prepared news release, Chief Stufano says “On Sunday night, Smithville Police Officers responded to Brookview Apartments at 740 Walker Drive to a reported burglary. After a short investigation with both the victim and witnesses, it was determined that the suspect, McKissack, lived in a neighboring apartment. A computer check also showed that the subject was wanted for a violation of probation warrant.”
“Additional officers and Sheriff’s deputies responded to the apartment complex as the suspect was holdup in his apartment. Officers hearing noises coming from the apartment made repeated attempts for someone to come to the door. After a relay of phone calls between the occupants of that apartment and other neighbors, four individuals came out to speak to officers. It was ascertained that McKissack was not coming out. Officers tried to establish communications with McKissack for over 15 minutes before finally contacting him hiding in a back bedroom.”
“Further investigation at the scene disclosed that McKissack had pried open the front door to the burglarized apartment earlier in the day and entered, stealing cash and prescription drugs. Detectives were able to establish that witnesses saw McKissack coming out of the residence while the occupants were away. Eventually, the residents were notified shortly after their return home that evening.”
“Smithville Police are investigating a number of similar burglaries in the same area and are asking anyone with information to contact Sergeant Steve Deffendoll at 597-8211.”
Chief Stufano says the Smithville Police Department is committed to investigating all crimes within the city limits and asks for citizens support. “Neighborhood Crime Watch works and thanks to our growing network of Neighborhood Crime Watchers we are making a difference.”

A White County woman , wanted by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly passing forged checks in the names of a Temperance Hall couple, is now in custody.
40 year old Lisa Kylene Frasier and her husband, 41 year old Larry Frasier of Luna Road, Sparta were arrested Friday at a motel in Gallatin.
Gallatin Police made the arrests.
Ms. Frasier has been charged by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department with aggravated burglary, and theft of property and will be charged with forgery. Her bond is currently set at $15,000.
No local charges have been filed so far against Larry Frasier.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says someone recently burglarized the residence of Kenneth and Nadene Carter at Temperance Hall and stole two boxes personal checks from Regions Bank and the Bank of Putnam County in the names of the Carters.
Sheriff Ray says Frasier is also a suspect in a similar case in Wilson County.
These checks have been passed in DeKalb, Sumner, Wilson, White, Jackson, Putnam, Smith, Coffee and Warren Counties.
Sheriff Ray says Frasier used a fake drivers license to pass the checks, that has her own picture, and the actual license number of Nadene Carter.
During the course of the investigation, Sheriff Ray says the local department suspected that the Frasiers might be in the Gallatin area since some of the stolen checks were being passed there.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Gallatin Police and the joint investigation between the two departments led to the arrests of the Frasiers.
Gallatin Police spotted the Frasier’s Pontiac parked at a motel in the area on Friday. Police converged and made the arrests without incident.
The Frasier’s, currently in custody in Gallatin, will soon be returned to DeKalb County.

Two people were arrested on drug charges Friday after a traffic stop in Alexandria by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says 35 year old Chad Knowles of the Loop and 36 year old Vickie Cantrell of Adcock Cemetery Road are charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance (dilaudid) with intent to sell and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance (valium).
According to Sheriff Ray, the two were pulled over in their vehicle on Highway 70 in Alexandria by county deputies. Upon further investigation, the officers found 47 K-4 dilaudid and 2 valiums in a hidden compartment of a Dr. Pepper soft drink can.
Bond for Cantrell is $53,500 and $78,500 for Knowles.
Knowles’ bond is higher than Cantrell’s because this offense occurred while he was free on bond in another case. Sheriff Ray says Knowles was arrested on November 10th on charges of felony evading arrest with a motor vehicle and driving on a revoked license (6th offense).

Officers and Detectives of the Smithville Police Department have arrested two individuals involved in a complex scheme using identity theft, burglary, drugs, stolen checks, and multiple ID’s to defraud merchants out of thousands of dollars in merchandise and stolen property throughout Middle Tennessee.
In a prepared news release, Smithville Police Chief Thomas J. Stufano, says “After receiving a tip from an off-duty police officer, Smithville officers responded to Advanced Auto Parts on South Congress Boulevard and after a short investigation arrested Merel Aaron Degroat of 9740 Old Kentucky Road in Sparta and Anissa Renee Adams of 622 C. Poplar Street in Monterey and booked them into the DeKalb County Jail on drug charges and passing a bad check.”
Stufano says ” With intensive followup by investigators the next day, it was discovered that the checks were reported stolen during the commission of a burglary in Hamilton County. After comparing investigative notes on area identity theft cases, Smithville Police Detectives formed a Task Force which included Alexandria Police, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, McMinnville Police, Monterey Police, and Baxter Police and through cooperative efforts were able to track the extensive trail of stolen checks and illegal identities used throughout Middle Tennessee. The use of these fraudulent identities helped purchase thousands of dollars of product including jewelry, clothes, beauty products, auto parts, and large quantities of food.”
According to Chief Stufano, “The couple would routinely strike up conversations with the store checkout clerks in an attempt to sway them away from validating the ID. On many occasions, the clerks were advised that the items purchased were being donated to various charities. The investigation showed that the couple was using the stolen products to trade for drugs throughout the area.”
“In a combined search of the defendant’s home and vehicle, Detectives recovered thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, most with the tags still on them, along with a cache of drugs. Due to the diligent effort of the Smithville Investigators, all of the merchandise purchased from Smithville merchants was recovered and will be returned to them.”
Degroat is also charged with facilitation of a felony and violation of parole. He remains in jail under a $100,000 bond.
Adams is also charged with four counts of forgery, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of drugs. Her bond is $55,000. The vehicle used in the illegal operation was seized by the Smithville Police Department under the State’s Forfeiture Act.
Chief Stufano says “The city’s new Crime Watch Program, which began earlier this month, touts the increase of Identity Theft and how citizens and merchants can protect themselves from these types of cases.”
“Identity theft is becoming more sophisticated and the number of new victims is growing. In general, consumers are protected against liability for unauthorized accounts or transactions under federal and state law and by financial industry practices. However, innocent victims of identity theft sometimes do suffer losses. And if the crime is not detected early, people may face months or years cleaning up the damage to their reputation and credit rating, and sometimes they lose out on loans, jobs and other opportunities in the meantime.”
Chief Stufano says “The Smithville Police Department is committed to aggressively investigating these types of crimes and asks our citizens to please contact the Police Department if you feel you have been a victim or have information about these crimes.”

A White County woman , wanted by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly passing forged checks in the names of a Temperance Hall couple, is now in custody.
40 year old Lisa Kylene Frasier of Luna Road, Sparta is charged with theft and forgery.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says someone recently burglarized the residence of Kenneth and Nadene Carter at Temperance Hall and stole two boxes personal checks from Regions Bank and the Bank of Putnam County in the names of the Carters.
These checks have been passed in DeKalb, Sumner, Wilson, Jackson, Putnam, Smith, Coffee and Warren Counties.
Sheriff Ray says Frasier used a fake drivers license to pass the checks, that has her own picture, and the actual license number of Nadene Carter.
She was arrested Friday in Sumner County.