After making a routine traffic stop, Smithville Police Officer Scott Davis and State Trooper Mark Jones of the Tennessee Highway Patrol recently had to make a trip to the hospital.
According to Smithville Police, Officer Davis responded to a call on Dry Creek Road to aid in identifying possible narcotics. Trooper Jones was also on the scene. While searching a vehicle, belonging to 28 year old Mary E. Tanner of Old Mill Hill Road, the officers discovered a Sobe water bottle, containing an unknown substance. Trooper Jones opened the bottle and both he and Officer Davis inhaled fumes from chemicals inside the bottle which was determined to be methamphetamine.
Both officers were treated and released at the emergency room of DeKalb Community Hospital after they began having breathing problems as a result of exposure to the chemicals.
Smithville Police charged Tanner with aggravated assault on an officer. The Tennessee Highway Patrol also charged her with possession of methamphetamine, among other offenses.
The hazardous chemicals were properly disposed of from the scene.
Meanwhile, in other city crime news, police recently received information about a possible meth lab at a West Main Street apartment complex. Officer Matt Famer, trained and certified in handling and identifying components used to make methamphetamine, was summoned to the scene where he and other officers discovered what appeared to be a “shake and bake” operation, along with enough components for a full-blown meth lab.
A clean-up crew was called to properly dispose of all the components and chemicals at the scene. The case is still under investigation and arrests are pending.
33 year old Eric James Garner of Tabernacle Drive, Smithville, was arrested and charged with simple possession of a schedule IV drug (valium).
K-9 officer Bradley Tatrow received a report of a possible drunk driver, inbound on Highway 56 North. Officer Tatrow pulled the vehicle over on Allen Ferry Road and made contact with the driver, Garner, who allegedly had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. Garner allegedly admitted to drinking one beer and having taken his hydrocodone medicine.
After spotting a rifle in the passenger seat, Officer Tatrow asked Garner to exit the vehicle and found on him a plastic wrapper that contained different types of pills, including ten pills believed to be valium. Bond for Garner was set at $1,500, and he will appear in General Sessions Court, March 18th.
19 year old Stephanie Murphy of East Bryant Street, Smithville, was arrested on Friday, February 19th, and charged with disorderly conduct.
Corporal Travis Bryant responded to a call of a verbal altercation at the City Walk Apartments. Murphy admitted she had been in an argument with another party. Corporal Bryant was later informed of a fight upstairs at the apartment complex, in which Murphy was allegedly involved with another neighbor. He advised her to calm down, but she allegedly did not comply.
Bond for Murphy was set at $1,000, and she will appear in court on the charge, March 11th.
32 year old James A. Hesson of Sparta Highway, Smithville, was arrested on Friday, February 19th, and charged with leaving the scene of an accident and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Corporal Travis Bryant responded to a motor vehicle accident with property damage on North Congress Boulevard. Upon arrival, Corporal Bryant made contact with Patty Davis who had been involved in the accident. The other driver had fled the scene but Davis gave the officer a detailed description of the vehicle. Corporal Bryant said he was familiar with the vehicle and its owner.
Two days later, on Sunday, February 21st, while escorting someone to a Hayes Street residence to recover some personal items, Corporal Bryant saw Hesson in the passenger seat of another vehicle. He made contact with Hesson who admitted that he had fled the scene of the accident on Friday because he wasn’t sure if the truck he was driving had been stolen. Hesson claimed he purchased the truck just a few days before the accident. He also allegedly had a hypodermic syringe strapped to a case underneath his leg.
Meanwhile on Friday, February 19th, Linda Rigsby reported to Corporal Travis Bryant that she noticed three rings missing from the bedroom of her West Market Street residence. One was a gold ring, valued at $200, another was a gold wedding band, valued at $100, and the third was a gold ring with a quartz stone, valued at $600. Rigsby reported there was no sign of forced entry into her home, but three other people had access to the residence.
On Wednesday, February 17th, Sergeant Randy King was dispatched to a Smith Road residence, where Ethel Y. Cash reported missing a New England Firearms 22-caliber revolver. Cash said she had bought the gun several years ago, but last remembered seeing it on February 1st, 2009. She recently began looking for it and noticed it was missing.
On Thursday, February 18th, Brittany A. Scarpaci reported to Sergeant Randy King that all of her belongings had been taken out of her apartment while she was away from home for three days, visiting her mother. Among the items taken were a leather living room suite, a 19-inch color television, end tables, a lamp, a TV table, a microwave, skulls glass and porcelain, collector’s teddy bear, a rose lamp, a 26-inch color television, a DVD player, 60 VHS tapes and 100 DVD’s. The total value of the items was about $2,500.
Also on Thursday, February 18th, Jennifer Hicks reported to Lieutenant Steven Leffew that she had become aware of multiple transactions having been made on her debit card. She was made aware that her card had been mailed to the wrong address, and according to her bank statement, the transactions had started on or around January 5th.
On February 25th, Samuel Kennedy of O’Connor Street reported to Corporal Travis Bryant that his mailbox had been opened and his outgoing mail was missing. The post office had told Kennedy that the mail had not been picked up. Kennedy’s missing mail contained three checks, totaling $119. At the time of the report, none of the checks had been cashed.
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