A 40 year old man accused in the theft of items from a local storage unit building last fall appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Tuesday, June 21.
Judge Gary McKenzie presided.
Shane Michael Downey entered a plea to theft over $1,000 and received a four year sentence suspended to probation. The term is to run concurrently with a domestic assault sentence against him. Downey is to make restitution to the victim in an amount to be determined at another hearing. He was given eight days of jail credit.
Downey was arrested on Thursday, September 3, 2015 by Smithville Police Detective Brandon Donnell after an investigation in which some of the stolen items from a local storage unit building were recovered and returned to the owner.
According to Captain Steven Leffew, the victim told Officer Will Judkins on Sunday, August 30 that she discovered the burglary and theft the next day after moving items into a storage unit on Highway 56. The victim reported items missing from the unit valued at more than $2,000.
20 year old Kevin Wade Hedgecoth, Jr. entered a plea by criminal information to possession of a schedule VI drug over one half ounce and received a two year sentence suspended to probation. He was fined $2,500.
A codefendant with Hedgecoth, 19 year old Mitchell Allen Huffaker entered a plea by criminal information to attempted possession of a schedule VI drug for resale and received a two year TDOC sentence all suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,500. Huffaker was given one day of jail credit.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, December 21, 2015 a deputy received a tip from another officer that a vehicle was possibly transporting marijuana. The officer located the automobile at the Kwik N Ezy convenience market in Smithville. The driver, Huffaker was inside the store. When Huffaker came out of the market, the deputy spoke to him. As Huffaker opened the car door to reach for his license, the deputy detected an odor of marijuana coming from Huffaker’s vehicle. Hedgecoth was a passenger. During a search of the automobile 3.17 ounces of marijuana were found in the middle console. Both Hedgecoth and Huffaker were arrested after admitting that they had put their money together to buy the marijuana.
37 year old Jeffery Scott McAlister entered a plea to theft over $1,000 and received a four year suspended sentence. The term is to run consecutive to a Rutherford County sentence against him. He must make restitution of $50.
Smithville Police Sergeant Brad Tatrow took a report on Monday, September 7, 2015 of someone taking a vehicle from the parking lot of Napa Auto Parts . The automobile was found near the Cannon/DeKalb line at Barnes Cemetery. McAlister became a person of interest and upon further investigation by Detective Matt Holmes it was determined that McAlister had taken the vehicle from the parking lot, driven it to the cemetery, and left it there. McAlister was arrested for theft.
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