The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has apparently solved three recent burglaries and thefts with the arrest of a 27 year old Kentucky man, who was in this area doing some contract construction work
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Scottie Baird of Pine Knot, Kentucky is charged with theft of property under $500, two counts of burglary, and two counts of theft of property over $1,000.
Sheriff Ray says on October 17th, the Sheriff’s Department received a report of a theft at a residence on Hurricane Ridge Road in which some plywood and landscaping bricks had been stolen.
Another theft was reported on October 10th. Someone had broken into a barn on Four Seasons Road and stolen sheets of OSB board, sheets of flooring lumber, pressure treated wood, and a refrigerator and a stove.
Sheriff Ray says authorities believe the same person went back to the barn on October 13th and stole several pieces of expensive virgin beechboard wood.
Baird was identified as a suspect through the investigation and he was subsequently arrested and charged in the case.
He is currently under a $55,000 bond.

A Baxter man, formerly of Smithville, was arrested Monday after calling the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and making threatening remarks to a correctional officer.
Brian Roberts of Hamer’s Street, Baxter is charged with retaliation of a past action, which is a Class E felony, for making threats against law enforcement officers.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says at around 1:50 a.m. Monday (today) one of the correctional officers at the jail received a call from someone wanting to know the officer’s name. Sheriff Ray says the caller threatened the officer, saying he was a “dead man”. The caller also made threats against other members of the department, saying he would be “waiting to kill them when they get off from work.”
After making the threats the caller hung up.
Sheriff Ray says members of the department immediately contacted him and he began an investigation. Sheriff Ray says ” We traced the call through the phone company and found out where the call came from.”
The call originated from a residence on the Old Bildad Road in DeKalb County, but Roberts, who had made the call, had left by the time officers arrived.
Roberts was later arrested by Putnam and DeKalb County authorities at his Baxter home and charged in the case. He is currently under a $50,000 bond.
Sheriff Ray says Roberts, who formerly lived on Midway Road in DeKalb County, has been in trouble with the law before on various charges and is currently listed on the state’s sex offender registry.

A 90 year old Liberty woman was seriously injured in a two vehicle traffic accident at 11:52 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Highways 70 and 53.
Trooper Brian Raymond of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Mary Anderson was northbound on State Highway 53 in a 1993 Caprice Classic and was turning west onto Highway 70 when she pulled into the path of an eastbound 1997 Chevy Blazer, driven by 44 year old David Carter of Lavergne.
Trooper Raymond says Anderson was partially ejected upon impact and was trapped between the two vehicles. Bystanders at the scene pushed the Chevy Blazer back enough to remove her from the wreckage.
Anderson was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb West School where she was airlifted by a Life Flight helicopter ambulance and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Carter was not believed to have been seriously injured.
Others on the scene rendering assistance included members of the Liberty Fire Department, County Deputies, Constables, and Sergeant Billy Prater of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

A tip from a concerned citizen to the Smithville Police Department led to the arrest of two men on drug charges Wednesday night.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says Jimmy Brown Martin of 2454 Hurricane Ridge Road is charged with simple possession of marijuana and Billy Joe Griffith of 9659 Short Mountain Highway is charged with possession of a schedule IV drug and sale and delivery of marijuana.
Bond for Martin is $1,500 and Griffith is under a $5,000 bond.
Chief Stufano says “On Wednesday night at approximately 8:00 p.m., Smithville Police responded to the MAPCO gas station at Highway 56 and Highway 70 to investigate a reported suspicious incident in the parking lot.”
“A concerned citizen had called relaying that the occupants of two vehicles were acting suspiciously and possibly selling narcotics. Officers responded, locating the vehicles and subjects, and after a short investigation arrested the two men.”
“During the investigation officers found three bags of marijuana totaling approximately 24.4 grams in Griffith’s vehicle. In addition to Griffith’s arrest, his vehicle was seized under the State’s Drug Forfeiture Act.”
“Martin was arrested after officers found a bag of marijuana hidden on his person.”
Chief Stufano says “Smithville Police appreciate the overwhelming response our citizens have shown in contacting us about suspicious persons or incidents. Our police officers are committed to actively investigating all criminal concerns within the city limits and want you to know that our residents safety and security is our number one priority.”

A 39 year old Smithville man, already charged with a burglary of one residence at Brookview Apartments, has now been charged with the burglary of three others there.
Police Chief Thomas J. Stufano says James Nathaniel McKissack, a resident of Brookview Apartments, was charged on Sunday with aggravated burglary and resisting arrest. “On November 19th, Smithville Police arrested MsKissack of 740 Walker Drive for his participation in a burglary of a neighbor’s apartment located at Brookview Apartments.”
“Detectives who had been working the case have now discovered that McKissack had also broken into three other neighbors apartments and stole a wide array of items including a laptop, pot and pans, sneakers, boxes of candy that are sold by school children, jewelry, cleaning supplies, makeup and video games. In one instance, the neighbors had been away and were unaware of the break-in and theft to their residence until police officers showed up with their property. All of the stolen items were eventually recovered in McKissack’s apartment.”
Additional charges of burglary were placed against McKissack at the DeKalb County Jail with bond set at $58,500.
Chief Stufano says “this is another case where citizen cooperation has afforded the Police Department with valuable information which helped resolve crime in our city.”

Five defendants were sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Friday after entering guilty pleas under negotiated settlements.
The presiding judge was Leon Burns, Jr.
20 year old Danny Hugh Kennedy III pleaded guilty to simple possession and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended. He will be on supervised probation for six months and unsupervised probation for six months if all fines, fees, and costs are paid. He must perform 25 hours of community service work and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment.
22 year old Melody K. Mencer pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended. She was fined $150. The case is to run concurrently with a criminal court case against her in Warren County.
29 year old Walter Ray Pedigo pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule II controlled substance. He received a three year sentence all suspended to DOC probation. The fine was waived.
53 year old Julie Murphy pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule II controlled substance, sale of a counterfeit controlled substance, and two counts of sale of a schedule III controlled substance. All the sentences are to run concurrently for a total of four years but she was given credit for time served and will be on supervised probation for the remainder of her term. All fines were waived in the case but she must undergo an alcohol and drug assessment and follow the prescribed treatments.
60 year old James Edward Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule II controlled substance and two counts of sale of a schedule III controlled substance. All the sentences are to run concurrently for a total of four years, all suspended to one year of probation supervised by community corrections and the remaining three years on DOC probation.. All fined were waived in the case and he was given credit for time served.

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.”