Sheriff’s Department Makes Two More Arrests in August 3rd Robbery of Liberty State Bank

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has arrested two more people, believed to have been accomplices with 38 year old Craig Hill in the robbery of Liberty State Bank on August 3rd.
45 year old Ricky Estes of Whorton Springs Road, Smithville and 26 year old Roxanna Landis of Andrew Street, Smithville were both arrested on Friday, August 20th and charged with aggravated robbery. Each is under a $100,000 bond and they are scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on Monday, September 13th.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Estes “aided in the robbery of Liberty State Bank by being involved in the planning of the robbery and driving the get away car. He also shared in the proceeds from the robbery.”
Sheriff Ray adds that Landis “aided by being involved in the planning of the robbery, freely leaving in the get away vehicle, and sharing in the proceeds of the robbery.
Hill, who was accused of actually committing the robbery, made a brief court appearance last week but the case was continued until September 13th in DeKalb County General Sessions Court. Hill is under a $100,000 bond on the aggravated robbery charge but he is being held without bond on charges of violation of probation in other cases against him.
Hill, a resident of Holmes Creek Road, Smithville turned himself in at the DeKalb County Jail on Saturday, August 14th for violation of probation.
In a brief statement, Sheriff Ray said “On August the 3rd, through an investigation into the robbery, Hill was identified through (bank surveillance) video tapes and other investigative tools to be the person responsible for the robbery. Lawmen had been searching for Hill ever since. Hill, who had been living out of town since this incident, came to the DeKalb County Jail to turn himself in on a violation of probation warrant. While there, he was questioned by Sheriff’s Department Detectives about the robbery and admitted his involvement in the robbery of Liberty State Bank.
The warrant alleges that “On or about the 3rd day of August 2010, Craig Anthony Hill did enter the Liberty State Bank in Liberty Tennessee presenting the teller with a note stating “Give me the money in 20’s and 100’s, I have a gun” thus putting the teller in fear of her life. The teller at that point took the cash from her drawer and gave it to Craig Hill as instructed. The amount of money taken during the robbery was in excess of $6,000.”
Meanwhile in other crime news, 30 year old Carlos Lynn Godsey of LaVergne Street, Alexandria
was charged Tuesday, August 17th with theft of property under $500 and theft of property over $1,000. His court date is September 16th and he is under a $35,000 bond
Sheriff Ray says, Godsey went to a location on Rosewood Lane, Smithville on Tuesday, August 10th and took a door to a Chevy S-10 pickup truck, a metal milk jug, and a set of metal car ramps, valued at about $200.
The next day, Wednesday, August 11th, Sheriff Ray says Godsey went to a location on the Alexandria to Dismal Road, Alexandria and stole a 20 horsepower boat motor, an air compressor, a truck and car transmission, and a 1976 International scout body, valued at $1,500.
27 year old Dustin David Yates of School Land Road, Van Cleave Missouri was charged Tuesday, August 17th with theft of property. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on September 2nd.
According to Sheriff Ray, Yates took a vehicle in Missouri and brought it to Tennessee. “We got a report that the vehicle was on Miller Lane, Smithville at a residence. A deputy went to Miller Lane, found the vehicle, and learned that he was the driver of the vehicle. Authorities in Missouri have placed a hold on Yates for the charges against him there.
35 year old Karen Lynn Welsh of Bobby Hayes Road, Dowelltown was charged on Thursday, August 19th with a first offense of driving under the influence. Sheriff Ray says deputies received a call from dispatch of a “Be on the Lookout” BOLO for a black Forerunner. “One of the deputies got behind the vehicle on Highway 56 south and observed it cross the center line four times. The officer then pulled it over. The driver, Welsh, had slurred speech and her pupils were pin pointed in size. She submitted to field sobriety tasks which she failed. Her bond is $1500 and she will appear in court on September 2nd.
52 year old Danette Louise Paulic of Oakley Road, Liberty was charged Thursday, August 19th with aggravated burglary, theft of property under $500, and possession of drug paraphernalia
Her bond is $16,000 and she will be in court on September 2nd. According to Sheriff Ray, deputies were called to a break-in on Sparta Highway and found Paulic there. “She had taken a leather jacket, a bottle of bleach, and a basket full of cleaning supplies. When they (officers) did an inventory of the vehicle before it was towed, they found two pipes used to smoke illegal drugs.”
45 year old Claude Patrick Trimble of Tabernacle Road, Smithville was charged on August 20th with a second offense of driving on a revoked license and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond is $3,000 and his court date is September 30th. Sheriff Ray says Trimble was operating a motor vehicle on Banks Pisgah Road and was stopped for almost hitting another vehicle head-on. When the deputy asked to see his drivers license, Trimble handed him a parole card and stated he did not have a license. A computer check of his license revealed that they were revoked for a DUI and other offenses on May 1st, 2003 in Warren County. The deputy also found between the driver side seat and console a used hypodermic needle.
31 year old Scotty Wayne Knowles was charged on Sunday, August 22nd with driving on a suspended license. His bond is $1,000 and his court date is September 30th.
Sheriff Ray says a deputy was on routine patrol on Jacobs Pillar Road when he observed a vehicle cross the center line several times. Upon stopping the vehicle, the deputy found the driver to be Knowles. The officer asked for a drivers license check through central dispatch and it showed Knowles’ license to be suspended for failure to show a drivers license on March 17th in DeKalb County.

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