Sex Offender Gets Two Year Sentence for Stalking

A 52 year old registered sex offender was sentenced on three counts of stalking Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Judge David Patterson presided
Walter Smouthers received a two year sentence in each case to run concurrently with each other. He was given jail credit from August 5, 2013 to February 21, 2014
According to Smithville Police, Smouthers used a pre-paid cell phone to make sexually explicit calls from his home in Paris, Tennessee to female store clerks in Smithville.
Chief Randy Caplinger told WJLE that Smouthers, a former resident of Smithville, was arrested last August by Detective Brandon Donnell and Corporal Travis Bryant at Smouthers’ home in Paris.
Police believe Smouthers used the cell phone he purchased at a Walmart to make hundreds of sexually explicit calls between July 30, 2012 and August 12, 2013 to female clerks at six Smithville businesses.
According to Detective Donnell, Smouthers was arrested in 2007 for making similar types of phone calls to some of the same victims as in the latest cases. “It started happening again over the past year,” said Detective Donnell. “We got enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for the phone number and records and it pinged at an address in Paris, Tennessee. Through an investigation, we found that Smouthers, who lives in Paris Tennessee and is a registered sex offender, made the calls. After an investigation, it was determined a prepaid phone from Wal-mart was used to place the calls,” said Detective Donnell.
Smouthers placed his last call only minutes before police arrived to arrest him. “Twenty minutes before he was picked up and arrested, he had placed another call to Smithville,” said Detective Donnell.
“We believe this phone was used just for this purpose. He didn’t report having the phone and that would be a violation of the sex offender rules he is under in Paris, Tennessee,” said Detective Donnell.
Police found Smouthers’ cell phone hidden under a dresser in his Paris, Tennessee home.
The case was investigated by Detective Donnell and Corporal Bryant.