The DeKalb County High School Tigers will get the season underway next Friday night, August 17 at 7:00 p.m. hosting their border rivals from Warren County. WJLE will have LIVE coverage with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor.
Coach Steve Trapp spoke with WJLE Friday about this year’s team and the season upcoming. (PLAY VIDEO BELOW)
steve trapp from dwayne page on Vimeo.

While Smithville Police are keeping tight lipped about the double murder investigation on Tommy Harrell Street, WJLE has learned that investigators have talked to a man named David Dixon and that he may be a person of interest.
Apparently no charges have been filed in the case.
Police Chief Randy Caplinger has not given a public statement on this investigation since Tuesday night, apparently not wanting to talk without the okay of the District Attorney General’s Office.
Meanwhile, one of the victims in the double murder will be laid to rest Saturday.
The funeral for 55 year old Ramon Beacham will be tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Mike Clayborn and Virgil Hibdon, Jr. will officiate. Burial will be in Whorton Springs Cemetery.
Beacham was found dead in his home Tuesday afternoon, apparently the victim of a shooting. The body of the other man, an Hispanic, was reportedly found beneath a pile of debris in the back yard of the residence. He too had been shot. WJLE has learned that his name is Jose Sagaon.
Local Mexican restaurants and stores have collection boxes apparently trying to raise money to send Sagaon’s body back to his home country.

School enrollment numbers are up compared to this time last year
Attendance Supervisor Clay Farler, during Thursday night’s school board meeting, said that county wide, the enrollment is currently 3,055 and could be as many as 3100 once all the pre-k students are counted. DeKalb County High School’s enrollment is currently at 869 where the 12th grade is at 201 students, higher than in the past for the senior class at this point in the school year. “There were only 847 students at DCHS on the fifth day of school last year. There’s 869 now and we pretty much have accounted for the no shows except for two or three. It’s a little larger number, especially at the high school,” said Farler.
“Mr (Danny) Parkerson’s school (DeKalb West) is about the same as last year. I think he’s got 435 students at the moment but that doesn’t include all the pre-K students there so it’s probably more like 440. The total throughout the county is 3,055. Of course, this will change some by next Thursday, the tenth day of school. That’s the official day everything should be accounted for. All students who haven’t shown up yet, we’ve got to track them down. We only have about 45 or 46 students that we don’t know for sure if they’re coming or not. It’s probably less than that,” said Farler.
“We also don’t have all the pre-K students on the roll yet but that was also the case last year. When they get added to the roll, there will be approximately 40 more students. So it will be pushing 3100 students county-wide. But like I said, there are several no shows that will probably come off that number. Even at that, we’ll probably still be up from last year. There are no grade levels at the present time that have under 200 students. They all have over 200 students except for Pre-K. The smallest class is the senior class or 12th grade. They are at 201 students at the moment. The largest class has been moving through year by year. Now they’re up to the sixth grade. They have 256 students county wide. They’re by far the largest class. Most of the other classes are between 210 students on up to 233 so all the classes from kindergarten to the 12th grade have over 200 students. We usually start at 175 to 180 students in the senior class. The fifth grade county wide is 241 students. The fourth grade is 235 and the third grade is 228,” said Farler.
Farler added that its hard to determine the number of students to anticipate at the start of school each year because there’s a lot of movement of families in and out of the county.
Meanwhile, Farler reported that for the first time in several years, three year old children will be attending pre-kindergarten at DeKalb West School. “There are two pilot classrooms in the county and have been since 2002. Those pilot classrooms can have three and four year old students. But the other three pre-k classes at Smithville Elementary School can only have four year old students. We’re already full in the four year old classes and we’re within one or two students being full at DeKalb West School and Smithville Elementary School mainly because they have three year old students in those classrooms. You cannot have a full 20 students if you have three year olds in the room,” he said.
Meanwhile, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby gave his monthly report on personnel to the school board.
Employment:
Carl Douglas Cantrell, substitute custodian
Rick Cross, special education teacher at Northside Elementary School
Bethany Davis, Transition Coordinator Teacher at DCHS
Michelle McManus, substitute cook
Diana Moon, teacher at DeKalb West School
Chris Moore, special education assistant at DeKalb Middle School
Joshua Odom, teacher at Northside Elementary School
Michael Shaw, teacher at DCHS
Kristen Kell, special education teacher at DeKalb West School
Transfers:
Holly Bain, transferred to Pre-K Educational Assistant at DeKalb West School
Katherine Ballard, full time School Psychologist
Brenda Bandy, transferred from DCHS to DeKalb West School
Shelly Gibson, transferred to Regular Education Assistant at DeKalb West School
Lynn Griffith, transferred from bus assistant to Special Ed Bus Driver
Debbie Knowles, transferred to new Special Ed Assistant position at Northside Elementary School
Daniel Lawson, transferred from sub bus driver to Special Education Bus Driver
James Donnie Lewis, transferred from sub bus driver to full time route
Paula Pinegar, transferred to Library Assistant position at DeKalb Middle School
Teresa Spencer, transferred to Special Education position at DeKalb Middle School
Carol Tallent, transferred to new Special Education Teacher position at Smithville Elementary School Kindergarten
Judy Wiggin, transferred from sub bus assistant to full time.
Resignation:
Jimmy Poss, bus driver

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer will be visiting DeKalb County next week on his statewide “TDOT Projects Tour” in Region 2.
During this week-long tour, Commissioner Schroer, elected officials and transportation officials will travel by bus to view TDOT projects currently underway and those listed on the department’s “Three Year Program.” . The visit locally will be to Hurricane bridge on Thursday, August 16
The Region 2 Tour is the first of four tours that will be held in East, Middle, and West Tennessee. The Region 2 Tour kicks off in Cannon County on Monday, August 13 and will wind up in DeKalb County.
The TDOT Projects Tour visited DeKalb County last year, stopping to view both Sligo bridge and Hurricane bridge.
Hurricane bridge currently is down to only one lane of traffic, and it is being maintained and controlled by a temporary signal for the safety of the traveling public. The current weight postings of 10 tons for two-axle vehicles and 18 tons for vehicles with three or more axles will remain in effect and will be strictly enforced. This will allow for work adjacent to the north side of the bridge to continue. Further temporary lane shifts may be implemented by flaggers on an “as needed” basis to facilitate work as it progresses. Estimated project completion date is October 2013.

After deliberating for three hours, a DeKalb County Criminal Court Jury of eight women and four men found 34 year old Richard Mooney not guilty of felony murder and theft of property over $1,000 Wednesday afternoon in the death of 63 year old Robert “Bob” Senick.
Mooney is not a free man. He is currently serving a ten year sentence in a Rutherford County car jacking case and is being returned there to be incarcerated.
“Obviously it was a difficult case,” said Joshua Crain, attorney for Mooney in an interview with WJLE. “My client was facing first degree murder charges. The state had a good case that they put together with very competent attorneys on their side. A lot of investigation went into this case. Obviously my client is pleased with the outcome. From our standpoint and our investigation of the case, we believe it’s the right outcome,” said Crain
“My approach to this case was very simple, to look at what the state had done to make sure they had done everything they should have done in order to convict my client. If they had, then he would have gone to prison. If they had not, then it was my job to show that it hadn’t been done. That’s the approach we took from the beginning and ultimately we were successful with that,” said Crain.
“I am surprised by the verdict but unfortunately when you are dealing with a case that involves drugs, more often than not your witnesses are not going to be very credible people,” said Gary McKenzie, Deputy District Attorney and one of the state prosecutors in the case. ” Our office does take pleasure in the fact that the defendant (Mooney) will continue serving his ten year sentence in a car jacking case in Rutherford County,” he said
Prior to the trial, indications are that the defense might have been willing to take a plea to manslaughter, a lesser offense than felony murder, but McKenzie said the District Attorney General’s Office did not feel that was appropriate in this case. A manslaughter conviction could have carried a sentence of 5 to 10 years. Under that arrangement, Mooney could have been eligible for release after serving at least 30% of the sentence.
Had he been convicted of felony murder, Mooney could have been facing a life prison sentence.
Crain told WJLE that perhaps the biggest concern of the case for the defense was the DNA evidence. “There’s no doubt. With today’s popular media, just those three little letters, DNA to a lot of people become the magic bullet,” he said.
Denying charges that he murdered Robert “Bob” Senick almost three years ago, Richard Mooney testified in his own defense Tuesday, on the second day of his murder trial in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
“He was a friend of mine. I didn’t have anything to do with his death,” said Mooney, referring to Senick, whose charred remains were found beneath the rubble of his burned down trailer home on October 7, 2009 near Liberty. Senick had been shot once in the head.
Investigators believe Mooney shot Senick, stole drugs and cash from the residence, and then burned down the home. But Mooney, often sounding defiant while on the witness stand, insisted that investigators never had any proof of his guilt. Mooney accused TBI agent Billy Miller and Sheriff Patrick Ray of twisting the truth in order to try and win a conviction against him in court.
After hearing from six witnesses on Monday, prosecutors Gary McKenzie and Greg Strong called six more witnesses Tuesday, including Sheriff Ray, and then rested the state’s case. Mooney’s attorney, Crain called four witnesses for the defense, including Mooney, who chose to take the stand, he said so that the jury could hear the truth. “I have nothing to hide”, said Mooney.
Mooney, who has a history of criminal activity including thefts, assault, and carjacking in other counties, claimed it was ridiculous to think he would have killed Senick for cash, when Senick, according to Mooney would have willingly given him any money he needed, if he had it because he was such a good friend.
So why then was Mooney’s DNA or blood found on Senick’s Lincoln Towncar, canopy poles supporting the awning over the car, and on a knife and sheath found on the hood of Senick’s car?
Mooney had an explanation. He testified that a few days before Senick’s death, he went to visit Senick and took along his pit bull. When he arrived, the dog jumped out of the vehicle and began fighting with Senick’s much larger dog. Mooney said he grabbed a knife and stick to pull the dogs apart and was bitten by Senick’s dog, causing him to bleed. Mooney claims he put the knife down on Senick’s car and must have brushed up against both the car and the canopy poles leaving behind the blood stains, later found by investigators after Senick’s death.
Following Mooney’s testimony, the state called Chief Deputy Don Adamson to the stand for brief testimony. Adamson said he remembered seeing Senick on the afternoon before his death. Adamson said both he and Senick were driving in the same direction, heading west on Highway 70 near Dowelltown. As Adamson passed Senick’s Lincoln Towncar, he looked over but did not spot any stains on the vehicle. According to Adamson, that is something he most likely would have remembered, had they been there. After Adamson’s testimony Judge Leon Burns, Jr. sent the jurors home for the night.
Closing arguments began Wednesday morning, followed by Judge Burns’ charge to the jury. The jurors then retired to the jury room to begin deliberations at 11:10 a.m. They returned with their verdict at 2:10 p.m.
WJLE was the only news source to cover the trial from beginning to end. The following is a summary of witness testimony on Tuesday.
Warren Glasby, a cousin of Mooney, testified that shortly after he had gotten out of prison, he and Mooney were in a car together when Mooney confessed to killing Senick. Crain, Mooney’s attorney asked why Glasby had waited two years to give that statement to investigators, having come forward with this development only a little over a month ago. Crain asked whether Glasby was expecting a plea deal from state prosecutors in exchange for his testimony, since Glasby is currently facing a possible 20 year prison sentence on pending charges of selling drugs in a school zone. Glasby denied Crain’s assertion and then began to blame Mooney for his having had to serve a twelve year sentence in a carjacking case he and Mooney were involved in at Rutherford County. “I got a twelve year sentence because of him (Mooney). He took me away from my family,” said Glasby. Crain then asked Glasby if perhaps he had come forward to testify because he was mad at Mooney and saw this as a way of getting back at him. Glasby denied it.
Sheriff Ray testified that when he interviewed Mooney during the investigation, he noticed that Mooney had a cut on his wrist and had asked him about it. Mooney claimed that he had got the cut while working on a car he had bought that had broke down. Sheriff Ray, convinced that Mooney had received the cut while at Senick’s home during the killing, informed Mooney that investigators had obtained DNA evidence at the scene. Sheriff Ray said Mooney kept asking about what kind of DNA and where it had been found. Mooney asked if the DNA were on cigarette butts or on drink cans. According to the Sheriff, Mooney surmised that the DNA could not have been found inside Senick’s home because it would not have survived the fire. After Sheriff Ray told Mooney that blood had been found, Mooney brought up that he and Senick had done some cocaine and that his nose had bled, apparently making an excuse for why the blood was at the scene. But earlier in the interrogation, Sheriff Ray said that Mooney had denied being a big drug user, saying that he preferred beer and liquor.
As for the cut to Mooney’s wrist, John Vantrease of Alexandria and formerly of Auburntown testified that he had seen Mooney a few days after Senick’s death and that Mooney had told him he had cut his wrist while working on the gear shifter in the console of the car, which had stuck. Vantrease said Mooney was a friend of his but that he had not known Senick very well.
Shortly after Senick’s death, Mooney went to Murfreesboro where he bought a used Saturn for $1,200. James Jarvis, a salesman for Battleground Motor Company in Murfreesboro, testified that he sold Mooney the car. Jarvis said the Saturn was in the price range of the car Mooney was looking for. But after he had gotten only three miles down the road, the car broke down as something went wrong with the gear shift. Although investigators claim someone from the dealership came to his assistance, Mooney said he tried to fix the car himself, resulting in the cut to his wrist. Mooney had the car only a short time when he sold it for $152 to a salvage yard in Woodbury, where the car was crushed.
Donald Dillon, a resident of Dowelltown who admitted selling oxycontin to Mooney and his sister and her boyfriend on a few occasions, recalled how that on the last visit, October 3, 2009 Mooney and his sister had no cash to buy the drugs. Dillon let them have the drugs anyway, telling them they could sell it and bring him back the money later, which they did, according to Dillon. On another occasion after Senick’s death, Dillon recalled that Mooney had come to his home asking for a ride which led to him taking Mooney to his parent’s home. During the ride, Mooney asked him if he knew of anyone who would be interested in buying a nine millimeter handgun. Dillon said when they arrived at Mooney’s parents home, they saw deputies there, and Mooney asked him to back out of the driveway. But Mooney eventually got out of the car.
Dr. Laura Boos of the TBI Crime Lab DNA unit, said she tested blood spots and or DNA found on Senick’s car, canopy poles, and the knife and sheath found at the crime scene, comparing it with a known DNA sample taken from Mooney and she got a match. However, Dr. Boos couldn’t say how long the DNA had been present on those items before they were discovered. “The tests can’t tell you how or when the DNA got there,” she said.
Attorney Crain, during cross examination of TBI Agent Billy Miller, asked why investigators focused on Mooney when there were others of questionable character associated with Senick who may have been involved in his death. He even mentioned one man who showed up at the Lebanon Police Department a month after Senick’s death wanting to know if there was a warrant against him for the disappearance of a man named “Bob”. Agent Miller said he and Sheriff Ray went to Lebanon and talked to the man, but found him to be delusional. Still, according to Crain, “People lied to investigators, concealed involvement, concealed fireams, and had criminal connections to Senick”. But, he said ” after the TBI confirmed the presence of DNA, you viewed it as the smoking gun, even though there was evidence pointing in different directions.” Agent Miller explained that investigators followed all leads until they ran dry, which they did on everyone except Mooney.
State Prosecutors tried to show Tuesday how that Mooney didn’t have enough money to buy drugs from Donald Dillon only a few days before Senick’s murder, according to Dillon’s testimony, but that in the days after the killing Mooney had as much as $1,200 to buy a car in Murfreesboro. This they believe, implicates Mooney in the theft as charged in the indictment. And since Mooney had talked about selling a nine millimeter pistol, according to Dillon’s testimony, prosecutors apparently tried to show that Mooney had access to a weapon and that this may have been the gun used in the killing. No gun was ever produced at trial. And although, according to the autopsy, Senick had died from a single gunshot that passed from back to front through his head, no projectile was ever recovered at the crime scene.
Alan Mooney, a defense witness and Mooney’s brother, testified that he and Mooney did have a good source of income at one time, working together doing brick and block work in Murfreesboro. He said they also hauled scrap metal to a salvage yard in Woodbury, making money that way. According to Alan Mooney, there were some weeks when they were cashing $10,000 checks. Mooney said he had not known of his brother’s drug activity with Dillon.
Mooney’s attorney, Crain claimed there was no evidence to support the state’s charges of murder and theft and after the testimony, he filed a motion with the court for a judgment of acquittal, which is a standard procedure by defense attorneys at the conclusion of a trial. He said the state had shown no proof that Mooney had killed or stolen anything from Senick. And the presence of Mooney’s DNA at the scene is not proof that he committed a crime there, according to Crain.
Judge Burns overruled Crain’s motion and allowed the jury to decide the case.