A 43-year-old Smithville man, who was released from state prison on parole eleven months ago after serving more than twelve years in a 2002 DeKalb County murder case, is in trouble with the law again.
Melvin Eugene Turnbill was charged with burglary on Monday, February 8 at a residence on Pen Oak Drive in Cookeville. Two days before on Saturday, February 6, Turnbill was also arrested for a DUI in Cookeville.
Both arrests were made by the Cookeville Police Department
The Herald Citizen reports that Turnbill’s arrest on Monday came upon an officer being dispatched to a possible burglary in progress.
Upon arrival, Officer Kyle Farley found Turnbill at the front door of the home. He detained Turnbill in his patrol car while checking on the home and speaking with the residents there.
According to the homeowner, Turnbill tried to enter the home through both the back and front doors and that he may have found a key to the house in an unlocked vehicle outside the residence.
Officer Farley’s report states that “He (Turnbill) had unlocked the door at one point and was trying to push the door open”.
According to the report, a female resident said she held the home’s deadbolt in the locked position to keep the man from entering the home.
Officer Farley returned to his patrol car and asked Turnbill if he had a key to the house.
Turnbill admitted to having a key which he got from the unlocked car, as the homeowners suspected. He turned the key over to the officer
Officer Farley placed Turnbill under arrest for burglary of a motor vehicle and transported him to the Putnam County Jail. His bond on the burglary charge is $10,000 and he will make an appearance in Putnam County General Sessions Court March 7.
Turnbill was released from prison on March 9, 2015. He had been serving a 25 year sentence for facilitation of first degree murder in the September 2002 fatal shooting of Joshua Murphy in DeKalb County.
A co-defendant in the killing, Christopher Nicholas Orlando is up for parole next month.
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