The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department arrested two men on drunk driving charges last week.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says deputies responded to a call on Bethel Road in the Blue Springs area on Thursday concerning a man who had passed out in a vehicle in the middle of the road.
Officers found 23 year old Jeronimo Miguel Soto of Short Mountain Road, Smithville to be under the steering wheel of the vehicle. Soto was so impaired and unbalanced, he was unable to perform sobriety tasks. Soto had no driver’s license and he refused to take a blood test. Soto was placed under arrest for a second offense of driving under the influence, no driver’s license, and he was issued a citation for violation of the implied consent law. His bond was set at $4,500 and he will appear in court on September 4th.
While making this arrest, Sheriff Ray says another man pulled up in a car and the deputies smelled an odor of alcohol on his person. They arrested 26 year old Jose Gerardo Carrillo of Short Mountain Highway for a first offense of driving under the influence. Carrillo was unsteady on his feet and he failed field sobriety tasks. Carrillo also refused to take a blood alcohol test. Carrillo was taken into custody for DUI and violation of the implied consent law. His bond was set at $1,000 and he will appear in court on September 11th.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has terminated the search for Nicklas Hickson.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says the manhunt ended at 7:30 a.m. this morning (Monday) because there have been no new developments.
Sheriff Ray says his officers will continue to patrol in the area.
If you should spot Hickson, contact the Sheriff’s Department at 597-4935.

39 year old Kirk Douglas Fincher has been captured thanks to some heroic efforts of a private citizen.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Fincher showed up at the residence of a woman on Woodard Road, off Old Lancaster Road, in the Temperance Hall area Sunday afternoon in DeKalb County. But as he was standing on the front porch, the woman’s son and daughter-in-law arrived. Fincher was held at gunpoint by the son until law enforcement officers got there. Authorities received the call at 2:19 p.m.
The other man being sought, Nicklas Hickson, remains at large.
According to a family member of the woman, Fincher showed up on her front door step, just as her son and daughter-in-law were coming up the long driveway to the house for a Sunday afternoon family meal and visit. When the woman saw her son and daughter-in-law driving up in their pickup truck, she went to unlock the front door. The only other person in the house with her at the time was her 16 year old grandson. As she opened the door, she saw the man (Fincher) standing on the front porch.
Fincher asked her if he could get something to eat and drink.
She answered no and then shut the door.
The daughter-in-law told WJLE that when she and her husband pulled up toward the side of the house, she got out of the truck and noticed movement on the front porch, and then saw a man coming down the front steps. She knew someone was there who wasn’t supposed to be because there were no other cars around.
Her husband then reached behind the seat of the truck for a rifle that he had brought so his son could do some target practice. As he got out of the truck with the rifle, the man (Fincher) began walking toward the truck. He held the gun where Fincher could see it and told him to stop right where he was and to put his hands in the air. Fincher was unarmed and did not try to get away. He told Fincher to sit down on the ground while his wife called the law. As she was calling on her cell phone, the woman inside the house was also making a call to police.
Members of the family fixed Fincher a plate so he could have something to eat while they were waiting on law enforcement officers to arrive. Patrol cars showed up minutes later, and several officers got out and took Fincher into custody before he could finish his meal. Among the officers who converged on the scene to make the arrest were members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the agency’s SWAT Team, the White and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, TWRA, and TBI.
Fincher had a lot of cuts and scratches from the briars he had run into while trying to hide in the woods and thickets.
Sheriff Ray says Fincher refused to say anything to officers after he was back in custody, except that he and Hickson had split up and apparently had gone in different directions after a THP pursuit Saturday morning that ended near the Walker Creek bridge, where they abandoned the stolen car they were in and set out on foot.
The family who helped authorities capture Fincher asked not to be identified.

The search continued into the night Saturday for two men wanted by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE Saturday night that a THP helicopter with a heat seeking device was used in the search and some officers on the ground had hand held heat seekers. Roads in the area were monitored closely by law enforcement and officers checked many vehicles as they passed through, looking for the two men. Officers were concerned that the men, under cover of darkness, might emerge from hiding and try to steal a car to make a getaway. At last report, law enforcement had no reports of any car thefts in the area.
Throughout the day Saturday, officers often went door to door, checking with residents in the search zone to see if they had seen or heard anything of the two men. THP helicopters conducted aerial searches. Central Dispatch employed reverse 911 calling upon request of the THP and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to alert residents in the area. Tracking dogs were brought in from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Mount Juliet and Cookeville City Police Departments K-9 units, as well as the Bledsoe County Correctional Institution.
Among the departments involved in the search are the Tennessee Highway Patrol, who have used two dozen state troopers including K-9 teams and members of Special Operations, the THP Criminal Investigation Division, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, which has set up a command post on site, the White, Warren, and Smith County Sheriff’s Departments, the Alexandria Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Sheriff Ray says the search will continue Sunday. It’s being conducted generally in the areas of Temperance Hall, Dale Ridge, Lower Helton, Walker Creek, Hayes Ridge, Lancaster, Brush Creek, and Alexandria.
The two suspects were involved in a pursuit Saturday morning and fled on foot after crashing the stolen vehicle they were riding in. These are believed to be the same suspects who were involved in a separate pursuit Thursday in White County.
Kirk Douglas Fincher and Nicklas Hickson allegedly stole a gold 1997 Toyota Avalon Thursday from a home in White County. A Tennessee State Trooper spotted the vehicle as it was traveling westbound on Interstate 40 near mile marker 268 at approximately 8:15 a.m. Saturday morning.
After back-up arrived, Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle. Officers pursued the Avalon from I-40 to Highway 53 South and then to Highway 264 where the suspects wrecked the vehicle near mile marker 4, only a few yards from the Walker Creek Bridge.
The two men, believed to be Fincher and Hickson, fled on foot. Officers found a loaded 9 millimeter pistol in the stolen car.
On Thursday, Fincher, a convicted felon from Kansas City, Missouri, was one of three occupants in a 2002 Black Ford pick-up truck who lost control and crashed during a pursuit on Old Kentucky Road in White County. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Thursday morning, Trooper Michael Loftis observed the Ford pick-up on Interstate 40 at mile marker 287 in Putnam County. Trooper Loftis attempted to stop the truck for following another vehicle too closely, and that is when the pursuit began.
Trooper Loftis followed the vehicle on Highway 111 South to Old Kentucky Road before the suspects crashed near the airport area. Authorities believe Fincher later broke into a White County home and stole the Toyota Avalon.
A 17-year-old occupant of the vehicle is in custody. He was spotted near a church by local residents and arrested at approximately 4:20 p.m., Thursday, by a White County Sheriff’s deputy and Trooper Loftis.
Fincher was released from a Missouri prison in January 2008, after serving a 17-year sentence for homicide of a police officer. There is no description of Hickson at this time.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol and law enforcement authorities in DeKalb, Warren, and Smith County are searching for two people at this hour, one of whom they believe is the Missouri felon they’ve been looking for since Thursday. The ground and helicopter aerial search is being conducted in the Temperance Hall community after the men abandoned their vehicle following a THP pursuit around 8:30 a.m. this morning (Saturday). Tracking dogs are also being used to assist officers in the manhunt.
Officials say if one of the men they are looking for is Kirk Douglas Fincher of Kansas City, Missouri, he is considered dangerous. He and the other person, believed to be Nicklas Hickson, were in a gold 1997 Toyota Avalon, the same one they allegedly stole in White County Thursday.
Fincher is a 39 year old white male. He has brown eyes and weighs approximately 215 pounds.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, the THP got in pursuit of the Avalon this morning from Interstate 40 through Smith County and into DeKalb County. The Avalon went out of control on the Temperance Hall Road near the Walker Creek Bridge and spun out. The men abandoned the vehicle and took off on foot. Officers found a loaded 9 millimeter pistol in the car. The men were last seen heading toward Smith County on the Old Lancaster Road. One of the men has black hair and was wearing a black shirt and black shorts. The other man was wearing a light colored vest.
Authorities are asking residents in the Lower Helton, Walker Creek, and Temperance Hall areas to stay inside their homes, keep your doors locked, and make sure all doors to your vehicles are locked.
Fincher was one of three occupants in a 2002 Black Ford pick-up truck who lost control and
crashed Thursday during a pursuit on Old Kentucky Road in White County. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Thursday morning, Trooper Michael Loftis observed the Ford pick-up on Interstate 40 at mile marker 287 in Putnam County. Trooper Loftis attempted to stop the truck for following
another vehicle too closely, and that is when the pursuit began. Trooper Loftis followed the vehicle on Highway 111 South to Old Kentucky Road before the suspects crashed near the airport area.
Fincher was released from a Missouri prison in January 2008, after serving a 17-year sentence for homicide of a police officer. Authorities found ammunition for various weapons in the wrecked Ford pick-up, but no guns were recovered. Later in the day, Fincher allegedly broke into a White County home and stole a 1997 Toyota Avalon. The Toyota Avalon has a moon-roof and non-factory tinted windows with a chrome ring around the license plate.
A 17-year-old occupant of the vehicle is in custody. He was spotted near a church by local residents and arrested at approximately 4:20 p.m., Thursday, by a White County Sheriff’s deputy and Trooper Loftis. The third suspect, Nicklas Hickson, at last report was still at-large.
Deputies from the White, Putnam and Cumberland County Sheriff’s departments, along with the Cookeville and Monterey Police Departments assisted in the initial manhunt. Authorities thought at the time that Fincher may be heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Anyone with information regarding Fincher’s whereabouts is urged to call the Tennessee Highway Patrol or the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department Saturday morning executed a search
warrant at the home of 41 year old Melisa Jean Petty and 39 year old Jeanna Tarron
Bain at 1588 Banks Pisgah Road Smithville.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says officers found hypodermic needles in Petty’s bedroom. Petty was found to have on her person 41 ½ dilaudid pills in a small plastic bag. Officers also found a small metal vile containing 9 ½ dilaudid pills under a foam mattress where Bain was sleeping. In addition, officers seized $3,014 believed to be proceeds from drug sales.
Petty was charged with possession of schedule II drug (dilaudid) for
resale and drug paraphernalia. Bond was set at $42,500.
Bain was charged with possession of schedule II drug (dilaudid) for resale and bond was set at $40,000. Both will appear in court on September 4th. More arrests are forthcoming.
If you have any information about any illegal activity you are urged to call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department Crime Tip Line at 464-6400. All calls are kept confidential.

The DeKalb County Tigers opened the football season with an impressive 42 to 25 win over border rival Warren County Friday night in Smithville. It was the Tigers’ first win in a season opener since the 2004 season, and the team’s first win in their four-game series with the Pioneers.
Junior quarterback, Hunter Poteete, threw for 220 yards and four touchdowns, while the Tiger defense logged six sacks and forced three Warren County turnovers. Poteete got DeKalb County on the board with a seven-yard rushing touchdown to cap off the game’s opening drive. The Tigers went up 7 to nothing and never trailed throughout the game.
J.J. Herriott put up the next Tiger score, as he ran in from five yards out, with 5:40 left in the first quarter. Freshman kicker, Zach Taylor, nailed DC’s first PAT attempt, but had his second one come up short as the Tigers took a 13 to 0 lead.
The Pioneers scored on their ensuing drive on a 32-yard touchdown run, but the Tigers added two more touchdowns to open up a 26 to 7 lead. Poteete hit Abram Edwards on a 31-yard scoreing strike, then found Nick Lester on a 15-yard pass to the end zone. The Pioneers made it a 26 to 13 game at the half, as they scored on a 15-yard halfback pass to the end zone with one minute remaining in the half,
DeKalb County added another score early in the third quarter on a 12-yard pass from Poteete to Herriott, which gave the Tigers a 33 to 13 lead, but the Pioneers answered with 1:52 left in the quarter on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. That score cut the Tiger advantage to 33 to 19 at the end of three quarters.
The Tigers scored their last touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter on a 23-yard Poteete pass to Travon Johnson. Taylor booted the extra point to give DC a 40 to 19 with 7:27 left in regulation.
The Pioneers would get one more score late in the game on a one-yard touchdown run. DeKalb County capped off the season-opening rout with a safety by Matthew Lawrence, who tackled the Warren County quarterback in the end zone, with 17.2 seconds left in the game.
DeKalb County, now 1-0, will travel to Watertown next Friday night.
WJLE will have live coverage.

A fire Tuesday afternoon destroyed the home of Gene Cunnigham at 295 Johnson’s Chapel Road.
The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department was summoned to the scene around 3:55 p.m. Members of the Short Mountain Highway, Johnson’s Chapel, and Midway Stations responded along with the equipment truck and a tanker truck. The Cassville Fire Department of White County also responded providing mutual aid assistance.
Cunningham and his wife were at home when the fire started and he suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation. He was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital and later transported to Vanderbilt Hospital, where he was treated and released. Cunningham later told firefighters that the fire started from curtains in the home and spread throughout the house.
No one else was injured but the family dog perished in the fire.