A 38 year old woman has been charged with child abuse after allegedly bruising an 11 year old girl with a belt and hitting her in the face with a shoe.
Rachel Sprague is under a $1,500 bond and she will be in court March 12.
Smithville Police Chief Randy Caplinger and Detective Brandon Donnell said the child is the daughter of another woman unrelated to Sprague. They were all living at the same location.
According to police, Sprague allegedly whipped the 11 year old girl with a belt and left multiple bruises all over the child’s body. She also allegedly took a shoe and struck the child in the face and picked up the girl by the shoulders and threw her to the ground.
“We got a report from the Department of Children Services (DCS) over child abuse allegations. The child told us Rachel would beat her with a belt repeatedly. She had bruising all over her body from the belt. She would take a shoe and smack the juvenile in the face with it. She went so far as to pick the juvenile up and slam her to the floor. This is not Rachel’s child. She (Rachel) was living with another woman and this was her (the other woman’s) child. DCS has removed this child and other children from the home,” said Detective Donnell.
33 year old Shana Bogle is charged with theft over $1,000. Her bond is $5,000 and she will be in court on April 9. Chief Caplinger said that on Monday, February 9 Bogle allegedly took from a residence where she had been staying a gold diamond wedding ring valued at $1,000 and a Droid Razr cell phone valued at $200 and sold them to a local jewelry store. Police later spotted Bogle at the parking lot of Walmart and placed her under arrest.
38 year old Andy Certain is charged with possession with intent to sell schedule II and IV drugs. His bond is $40,000 and he will be in court April 9. According to Chief Caplinger, an officer spoke to Certain while he was in a vehicle driven by another person in the parking lot of Walmart. Certain was asked to step out of the automobile. Asked if he had any weapons on him, Certain said there may be. When asked to empty his pockets, he removed three hypodermic needles and a gram of meth, five and a half xanax, and 44 dilaudid pills. A further inventory of the vehicle turned up more hypodermic needles and digital scales. He had $75 in cash believed to be proceeds from the illegal sale of narcotics. Certain was placed under arrest.
42 year old Jan Marie Winchester is charged with driving under the influence, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, and resisting arrest. Her bond is $8,000. Chief Caplinger said that on Saturday, February 21 an officer activated his blue lights in order to make a traffic stop at the intersection of Mountain Street and Miller Road but the driver of the vehicle refused to pull over until she reached Forrest Avenue. After making the stop, the officer spoke with the driver, Winchester, who had a strong odor of alcohol on her person. She was unsteady on her feet and her speech was slurred. Winchester initially resisted arrest, trying to pull away from the officer, but she was subsequently handcuffed and taken into custody.
31 year old Henry Turner is cited for theft of merchandise. Chief Caplinger said that on Thursday, February 12 police were called to the Dollar General Store in reference to a theft. A store employee reported that Turner was observed concealing merchandise in his pants. When confronted, Turner was found with the items on his person.
48 year old Scott Pedigo is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500. Chief Caplinger said that on Wednesday, February 11 Pedigo was found to be unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle. After being awakened, Pedigo submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. His speech was slurred and he was very unsteady on his feet.
33 year old Michael Chad Owens is charged with theft under $500. His bond is $1,500. Chief Caplinger said Owens allegedly took a brown leather purse while at a residence on West Broad Street. The purse contained cash, credit cards, and Medicare cards with a total value of $100.
22 year old Teesha Reynolds is charged with theft under $500 and fraudulent use of a credit card. Her bond is $4,000. Chief Caplinger said Reynolds allegedly took items belonging to another on West Main Street including a debit card which she used at Walmart.
36 year old Rebecca Sue Pelfrey is cited for shoplifting. Chief Caplinger said police responded to Walmart in reference to a shoplifter. An employee said Pelfrey was observed concealing items on her person. The merchandise was recovered.
30 year old Randi Michelle Johns is cited for simple possession of a schedule II drug (oxycodone). According to Chief Caplinger, police received a call of a possible drunk driver with a child in the vehicle. An officer spotted an automobile matching the description pull into the Rite Aid parking lot. He stopped there and spoke with the driver, Johns. After receiving consent to search, the officer found in Johns’ purse five green round pills believed to be oxycodone. Johns could not produce a prescription for the pills.
19 year old Hayle Hunt is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $5,000. Chief Caplinger said on Tuesday, February 3 Hunt allegedly assaulted a man by hitting him with her hand at a residence on Morgan Drive. She was determined to have been the primary aggressor. Meanwhile in a separate case, Chief Caplinger said Hunt is also charged with violation of bond conditions for texting her husband several times when she was to have had no contact with her husband. Hunt’s bond on that charge is $1,500.
Brian Lee Carter is cited for a third offense of driving on a suspended license. Chief Caplinger said on Monday, March 2 police found Carter asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle at a car wash. A computer check revealed that his license were suspended in Rutherford County and that he has two prior driving on suspended offenses against him. His court date on the citation is April 2.
34 year old Donnie Gilmar is cited for shoplifting at Walmart. Chief Caplinger said Gilmar was recently stopped by a Walmart employee after he was observed taking items from the store without paying for them. He will be in court April 23.
39 year old Darrell Wayne Crook is charged with domestic assault and resisting arrest. His bond is 4,000. Chief Caplinger said that on Sunday, February 22 police were dispatched to a residence on Oak Street. Upon arrival, an officer learned that Crook had been in an altercation with a woman over money which became physical. The woman suffered a cut and was bleeding from her hand. When the officer tried to place Crook under arrest, he resisted and had to be taken to the ground.
53 year old Perry Stembridge is charged with evading arrest in a vehicle. His bond is $5,000. Chief Caplinger said that on Thursday, February 26 an officer spotted a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Congress Boulevard. He was clocked at 93 miles per hour. The officer turned around and activated his blue lights. Stembridge turned onto Dearman Street and into a field behind homes on Dearman and Jennings Lane. The officer stopped the vehicle minutes later at Jennings Lane and Congress Boulevard and placed Stembridge under arrest.

A Gainesboro man has been charged with a sixth offense of driving on a suspended license.
27 year old Terry Russell Whittaker, Jr. is also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and for improper passing. His bond is $15,000 and he will be in court March 26.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, March 2 a sheriff’s department detective spotted a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed on Highway 70 east and observed it pass another automobile in a no passing zone. The detective stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Whittaker who admitted that he did not have a valid driver license. A computer check confirmed that Whittaker has a suspended license for failure to pay fines due to a traffic violation. Whittaker also has five other driving while license suspended charges and convictions on his record. During a search of the vehicle, the detective found two hypodermic needles that Whittaker said he used for Subutex. Whittaker was placed under arrest.
32 year old Samantha Bee Florida of Turkey Branch Road, Liberty is cited for a light law violation, simple possession of a schedule II drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She will be in court March 26. Sheriff Ray said that on Tuesday, March 3 a deputy observed a car with a tail light out. He made a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Florida. After receiving consent to search, the officer found a syringe loaded with 60 units of morphine along with five other empty syringes, a spoon, and a straw which contained a white powdery substance.
32 year old Charles Michael Blanchfield of Nashville Highway, Dowelltown is cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. He will be in court July 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, March 8 a deputy drove up to the Shell station on Highway 70 where the tenants reported to the officer that a vehicle had been setting at the pumps for over an hour. The deputy performed a welfare check on the driver of the automobile, Blanchfield. The officer also conducted a search of Blanchfield and his vehicle and found two syringes.
47 year old Gary Jason Britt of Belk Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence and reckless endangerment. He was also cited for Driving on Roadways Laned for Travel. His bond is $4,000 and he will be in court May 7. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, March 8 a deputy spotted a Ford pickup truck failing to maintain his lane of travel on Highway 288, crossing the yellow line several times. The officer made a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Britt who had a strong odor of alcohol on his person. Britt performed poorly on field sobriety tasks and he submitted to a blood alcohol test. Britt’s 13 year old daughter was in the truck with him at the time he was driving impaired, placing her in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.

Should you have to declare a political party affiliation to be able to vote in a primary election?
State Senator Mae Beavers believes you should and she has filed legislation, which if approved by the general assembly, would require close primaries.
The bill states that any person registered to vote prior to July 1, 2016, shall declare a statewide political party affiliation at the first primary election in which the person casts a vote which is held following such date. The county election commission shall then add that information to the voter’s permanent registration record.
A qualified voter who desires to declare a statewide political party affiliation prior to a primary election or to alter a previously selected statewide political party affiliation may do so in accordance with state law.
A voter choosing not to select a statewide political party affiliation shall not be eligible to vote in a primary election. “I’m all for that bill. Both parties have crossovers at times. For example, in our county (Wilson) with the Republican party because we’re over 100,000 (population) we’re having to have precinct elections to elect our executive committee for the party. Because of some people that have been crossing over to vote in the Republican Primary, those people have been able to come in and vote in our executive committee election. That should not be happening. I think it (closed primaries) is a good move. Many other states have it already and it allows just the people within your party to be able to vote in primaries,” said Senator Beavers.
The bill has been placed on the Senate State and Local Government Committee Calendar for Tuesday, March 10.
Meanwhile, Senator Beavers said she and State Representative Mark Pody are co-sponsoring legislation to prohibit a relative of an elected official from serving on an election commission. “We actually have that in one of our counties right now although an elected official right now cannot have someone work the election. So it only makes sense that they can’t be appointed to the election commission because if you have a relative on it, really they’re going to be barred from doing their job anyway on election day simply because they are related to somebody on the ballot,” she said.

DeKalb County Schools will host Parent-Teacher Conferences this week.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 10 at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
Due to weather all report cards will be delayed one week
DCHS report cards will be sent home on Monday, March 16 and at all other schools on Tuesday, March 17.

A Home Health Nurse enroute to see a patient lost control of her vehicle due to ice on Adamson Branch Road Friday morning. The 2001 GMC Yukon overturned on its side. The driver, 32 year old Margaret Becerril of McMinnville was not seriously hurt.
Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that Becerril was driving west on Adamson Branch Road when her vehicle slid off the side of the ice covered road on a downhill grade, struck an earthen embankment, and overturned onto its side. The Yukon then slid another 30-50 feet before coming to a stop, according to Trooper Johnson.
Initial reports were that the woman may have been trapped, but Trooper Johnson said Becerril managed to get out of the vehicle on her own. County Fire Chief Donny Green and Joe Johnson of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad reached the site in four wheel drive trucks but because of the icy condition of the road, neither an ambulance nor other emergency vehicles could get there. Members of the Rescue Squad eventually were able to access the scene with a gator and used it to transport the woman back down the hill to an awaiting ambulance.
She was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. According to Trooper Johnson , the woman was not hurt in the accident, but may have sprained her ankle while getting out of the vehicle.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a resolution on Wednesday that would allow Tennessee voters to decide if they want to elect the state’s attorney general. Senate Joint Resolution 63, sponsored by Senator Mae Beavers would begin the process of amending the state constitution, which if approved, would go to voters in the 2018 general election.
“Tennessee is the only state in the nation in which the people have neither a direct nor indirect voice in the selection of their attorney general, and we are the only state that gives that power to our Supreme Court,” said Senator Beavers.
Senator Beavers’ resolution calls for the AG to serve a six-year term, but would limit it to two consecutive terms. The resolution requires approval by the 109th General Assembly currently in session, and the 110th which will take office in 2017, before going to voters in a statewide referendum.
“I told the committee that I believe that it was even more important now that we pass a constitutional amendment to elect the Attorney General since the people voted for Amendment 2 (last November Election) and gave away their right to select Supreme Court Justices to the Governor,” said Senator Beavers in an interview on WJLE Thursday morning.
Senator Beavers said that when Tennessee’s Constitution was written, calling for nomination of the AG by the state’s Supreme Court justices, the court was popularly elected. Forty-three states already select their attorney generals through popular election. In six other states, the AG is selected by either the elected governor or the elected state legislature.
“I feel that the citizens of this state ought to have a ‘say-so’ in the highest legal office in Tennessee. Our Constitution says that the Supreme Court Justices shall be elected by the people. And then the framers of our Constitution in all their wisdom thought that it was fine for the Supreme Court to select our Attorney General. As I told the committee, the system became broken when the Tennessee Plan was passed. I believe that was unconstitutional. It did not follow the Constitution in what it said about us electing our judges. We have a body (Supreme Court) that is appointed by the Governor and we have them selecting our Attorney General. That is a huge conflict of interest for a man appointed by that body to practice in front of that body. The Attorney General is our attorney. The people’s attorney,” said Senator Beavers.
The bill now goes to the Senate floor where it will be heard on three readings before taking a final vote. It will then travel to the House of Representatives for approval there.

Tommy Jett, a legend in Chattanooga area radio broadcasting returns to his Smithville roots on Friday, March 13 to autograph copies of a new book “The Jett Age: Flying with Tommy Jett.
Jett (aka) Tommy Reynolds, and Ralph Vaughn, the author, will be at F.Z. Webb & Sons Gifts from 2:00 until 6:00 p.m. to personally sign each copy. The price is $20.
The book is a collaboration between the two men which began almost three years-ago after Jett had a near-death experience from a traffic accident. Vaughn said, “Tommy and I dedicated the book to God for giving him a miracle. Our prayer is that every reader will be blessed from reading the biography.”
Vaughn adds, “The Jett Age was a period in time when Tommy ruled the airwaves in the Chattanooga/Mid-South radio market. He was almost bigger than life; flamboyant personality; witty charm; keen sense of music; knowing exactly what the audience wanted to hear; cool words that captured the imagination of listeners; a believability that listeners bought into because his salesmanship was from someone who was trusted.
“At Live concerts, sock hops and personal appearances, Tommy Jett stood above the crowd. There was no doubt that he was geared for show biz with rings on every finger and sunglasses. His persona made him THE MAN.
“The Jett Age: Flying with Tommy Jett weaves a story of a young man who loved the world of music and entertainment; found his identity behind a microphone; built a fan-base that was almost unbelievable.
“His career was further celebrated in 2013 when Tommy was inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
“Both Tommy and I look forward to seeing family and friends. It will also be a “homecoming” for Tommy, who left Smithville 50-years ago to make a name for himself in radio.”