Smithville Police have arrested numerous individuals in a recent drug sting targeting the sale and distribution of illegal prescription narcotics in the City of Smithville.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says law enforcement agencies, Drug Enforcement Administration, and medical professionals in DeKalb County have recognized a growing pattern in the type of illegal drugs being bought and sold in Middle Tennessee. Investigators in both the city and county are identifying a high incidence of this type of drug activity due to the large availability of unauthorized use of prescription drugs.
Stufano says “In sweeping drug arrests starting on Tuesday January 16th , two different investigations resulted in the arrest of 25 year old Andrea Nickole Bass of 732 Gentry Avenue and Patsy Estes McCoy of 862 Highland Drive. The two were arrested after Smithville Police Detectives, operating in an undercover capacity, witnessed the transaction of narcotics between the two females. Upon arresting the women, Estes swallowed a pill she had, apparently thinking she could avoid prosecution. Officers recovered a large amount of illegal pills known as K-4 Dilaudid and cash was seized. Bass was charged with Sale and Distribution of Narcotics. She is under a $25,000 bond. Estes was also charged with Sale and Distribution with an additional charge of Tampering with Evidence. Her bond was set at $35,000. Both were transported the DeKalb County Jail.”
Chief Stufano says “A second operation resulted in the arrests of 28 year old Matthew Justin Daniel of 427 Hurricane Road and Bonnie Lou Stembridge of 223 Adams Street. The two were charged with Sale and Distribution of Narcotics (K-4 Dilaudid). The monitored transaction occurred outside of the Stembridge residence. Detectives had received information that illegal narcotics were consistently being sold by Stembridge and that Daniel was her supplier. At the time of her arrest Stembridge swallowed a pill she had received from Daniel for her part in the transaction. A large amount of narcotics, cash, and a vehicle were confiscated from Daniel under the State’s Drug Seizure Law. Both were transported the DeKalb County Jail and charged with Sale and Distribution of Narcotics. Bond for each was set at $25,000 bond. Stembridge was also charged with Tampering with Evidence. Her bond on that charge was $10, 000.”
On Wednesday January 17th the continued undercover operations netted a father and son for the Sale and Delivery of Narcotics. Chief Stufano says 58 year old Harold Blackwell and Russell Blackwell sold a large quantity of prescription drugs to an Undercover Officer. “The exchange took place in the parking lot of a local medical facility. It was discovered at a later date that Russell Blackwell ingested 20-40 pills of Xanax and Morphine just prior to officers arresting him to avoid prosecution. The younger Blackwell was being held at the DeKalb County Jail when an alert Corrections Officer noticed Blackwell acting strangely. Upon questioning him , Blackwell made the admission. He was immediately transported under Police protection to the hospital where he was admitted overnight. He was released and then transported back to the County Jail on Thursday morning. Both have been charged with Sale & Delivery of Narcotics and their bond is $25,000 each. Russell Blackwell was also charged with Tampering with Evidence to avoid prosecution. His bond on that charge is $10,000. The Smithville Police also seized the Blackwell vehicle, a large cache of K-4 Dilaudid and cash in accordance with the Drug Seizure Law.”
Later Wednesday evening Smithville Police Detectives again setup an operation using an Undercover Officer. Chief Stufano says 34 year old Katherine Michelle Carr of 207 Poplar Lane was arrested for Sale and Delivery of Narcotics, Possession of illegal Schedule II and III Narcotics and Possession of a Prohibited Weapon. “Carr had arranged a meeting at a local gas station located on the corner of Highway 56 and Highway 70. Once the exchange of money and drugs took place, Investigators were able to make the arrests without incident. A search of the vehicle and her person disclosed a large amount of drugs including K-4 Dilaudid, Xanax, Hydrocodone, Percocet, and Somas along with cash. Carr’s vehicle was also seized under the State’s Drug Seizure Act. Carr was transported to the DeKalb County Jail. Her bond was set at $80,000. Carr listed her occupation as a Certified Nursing Technician caring for the elderly at a temporary Nursing agency in Tullahoma.”
Smithville Police are committed to actively investigating all illegal drug activity in the city and wishes to express their appreciation to our partnering agencies and citizens for their continued help. If you have information about these types of crimes please contact the Smithville Police Department.

The case against B. Don James, the man accused of defrauding dozens of people in a so called “Ponzi scheme” has been set for trial March 6th in U.S. District Court in Nashville.
James was named in a fifteen count indictment by a federal grand jury last month charging him with over $1.8 million in wire fraud.
James apparently waived an appearance and submitted a written plea of “not guilty” at his arraignment last Thursday.
An order, signed by U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell, states that “The trial in the case is set for March 6th at 9:00 a.m. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 2nd at 1:00 p.m. A status conference is scheduled for February 12th at 9:00 a.m. All lawyers who will try the case shall attend the status conference.”
“Any plea agreement shall be consummated by February 26th and the courtroom deputy so notified. Any proposed plea agreement shall be submitted to the court by February 27th. If a plea agreement is submitted, the hearing to take the plea will take place on March 2nd at 1:00 p.m.”
“Any motion to continue the trial, pretrial conference or plea dates, shall be filed no later than one week before the pretrial conference date.”
If convicted at trial, James could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Smithville Police arrested an 18 year old man for rape Sunday.
Julio Cesar Bernardo of 817 Luttrell Avenue is charged with statutory rape of a minor.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says ” Investigators working a “Missing Persons” report of a 14 year old minor were able to track down the whereabouts of the teen to the Bernardo residence in Smithville. During the course of the investigation Smithville Detectives were able to substantiate that the minor had been intimate with Bernardo over the last few days and that Bernardo knew the minor was under the age of consent. He was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a $10,000 bond.
Meanwhile, in another unrelated case 36 year old Danny Lee Smithson of 135 Woodland Cir. Crossville was arrested for Driving on a Revoked License -5th Offense. An officer running radar traffic enforcement on East Broad Street stopped Smithson for speeding and when approached, Smithson stated that his license was currently revoked. He was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a $3,500 bond.
Chief Stufano says Smithville Police are committed to actively investigating all crimes within the city limits and are grateful for the citizen’s vigilance in Crime Watch.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department raided a cockfight in Dowelltown Saturday night and arrested ten people.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says deputies received a call at 7:50 p.m. Saturday to go to 224 E.H. Haas Road where a chicken fight was taking place. Upon arrival, the officers found ten men either participating in or observing the cockfight. Two of the men also had two children there. The kids are ages 12 and 13.
Officers observed two injured chickens and one chicken that was almost dead. They also found needle spurs, razor spurs, bottles of vitamin B complex, and cages used to transport the chickens. Officers also seized $5,341 from the defendants.
Sheriff Ray says during the interviews of the defendants, officers learned that they were placing $100 bets per round during the fights.
It is against the law ( a class A misdemeanor) for anyone to be involved in a cockfight. It is also unlawful (class C misdemeanor) for anyone to be a spectator at a cockfight.
The following persons were charged with cockfighting:
38 year old Artemio Alfaro of Board Valley Road, Sparta; 27 year old Joel Mendez of Fred Hill Road, Sparta;32 year old Juan Orozco of Cascade Avenue, McMinnville; 20 year old Juan Avalos of Short Mountain Road, Smithville; 31 year old Leonardo Guadarrana of Fred Hill Road, Sparta; 23 year old Nicolas Reyes of Carter Street, Smithville; 33 year old Mariano Reyes of Carter Street, Smithville; 35 year old Hugo Reyes of West Greenhill Road, McMinnville; 33 year old Rodolfo Reyes of E.H. Haas Road, Dowelltown; and 49 year old Antonio Ornelas of Disneyland Road, Sparta.
Rodolfo Reyes and Antonio Ornelas were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having their children present at the cockfight.
Sheriff Ray says he also intends to make the DeKalb County Humane Society aware of this case.

A player in Smithville won $200,000 in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing. In addition, there were over 54,000 winners who purchased tickets from retailers in the state of Tennessee, including 11,878 players who doubled their winnings with Power Play. No additional information is available until the winner claims the prize.
The Powerball jackpot for the next drawing on Wednesday, January 17, is estimated at $180 million.
The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first tickets on January 20, 2004. As of September 30, 2006, the Lottery has raised more than $699.1 million to fund specific education programs, including college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and after-school programs.