January
29, 2002
Shooting
* Washington County Sheriff's Department is investigating
the shooting death of a 45-year-old white male who was found
Monday afternoon lying beside his vehicle at a pull-off on
Herb Hodge Road in Watauga. According to Investigator Todd
Davis, the man appeared to be the victim of a gunshot wound
to the head. "At this time we believe it to be self-inflicted,
however, we are still investigating it," Davis said. The name
of the victim was not released pending notification of relatives.
According to Davis, the victim left a brief note. "He basically
wanted to let his family know that it wasn't their fault,"
Davis said. "It had a signature on it that, right now, we
believe is his, but we're going to check it out just to make
sure." Davis said passers-by called in and said they saw the
subject lying beside his vehicle but didn't know what was
wrong with him at the time. He also was seen about an hour
earlier just sitting in the vehicle minding his own business,"
Davis said. The subject was deceased when medical help arrived.
The man appeared to have been shot with a Smith & Wesson
.38 revolver. The body has been sent for autopsy. Detective
Davis and the County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating.
* CCSD Lt. Bobby Huffman responded Saturday to
Joshia Trail Road regarding a shooting. When the officer arrived,
he found Mitchel Estep, 182 Joshia Trail Road, lying in the
road with a wound to his left foot. Estep told the officer
he was standing on a log behind his house with a shotgun and
was going to shoot at a grouse, when the log rolled and the
gun discharged, shooting him in the foot. He was treated by
Carter County Rescue Squad and transported to Johnson City
Medical Center.
Arrests
* Kelvin Lee Stover, 32, 1270
Bluefield Ave., Apt. A-115, and Crystal G. Brooks, 21, same
address, were arrested Friday by Carter County Sheriff's Department
Sgt. Keith Range after he and Deputy Matt Lunceford responded
to Broad Street in the Lynn Valley community regarding an
assault. According to the report, Michelle Tolley told officers
that her boyfriend, Stover, and Brooks had assaulted and robbed
her. Tolley said she was in a car with Stover and Brooks when
they began demanding money from her. She refused and they
became belligerent and began hitting her about the head and
face. Tolley had blood all over her face and clothes and it
appeared her nose was broken. Tolley said the two forcibly
took her wallet and removed $95, then forced her from the
vehicle and drove off. Warrants were obtained and Stover and
Brooks were arrested a few hours later.
* Stacey S. Clawson, 27, 175 Jim Elliott Road,
was arrested Saturday by CCSD Sgt. Patrick Johnson after the
officer was dispatched to a hit-and-run accident on U.S. Highway
321. The victim had followed the fleeing vehicle to Dye Leaf
Road in Butler, where he lost it. Sgt. Johnson located the
vehicle, stuck in the mud behind a trailer on Dye Leaf. The
driver, Clawson, who had his two children -- ages 3 and 7
-- with him, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident,
DUI and child endangerment.
* Rickey Eugene Foreman, 33, Route 6, Burnsville,
N.C., was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Todd Hamm after the
officer was dispatched to 1088 Tiger Creek Road regarding
a disorderly male. Foreman, who witnesses said had had an
argument with his girlfriend and had to be restrained, had
an odor of alcohol about him and told the officer he ran outside
because he was drunk and was afraid he would go to jail. He
was charged with public intoxication.
* Garrett Allen Odom, 35, 278 Teaberry Road,
Roan Mountain, was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Todd Hamm
on a warrant charging him with violation of probation.
* Timothy Manuel Miller, 37, 2993 Playmore Beech
Road, Morganton, N.C., was arrested Friday by CCSD Sgt. Wendell
Treadway on a Criminal Court warrant charging him with violation
of probation. He was transported from Lenoir, N.C., to Carter
County Jail to await a Feb. 8 hearing.
* Joshua James, 18, 703 Blevins Ave., was arrested
Saturday by CCSD Sgt. Patrick Johnson on a warrant taken by
Elizabethton Police Department Ptl. Jason Shaw charging James
with assault under domestic violence.
* David Edward Phillips, 32, 216 Garland Branch
Road, Watauga, was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Eugene Moreland
on a capias charging him with failure to appear on violation
of worthless checks and fraud.
* Derrick Keith Bowers, 24, 194 Roy Bowers Road,
was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Laverne Julian, who was
in the process of serving a warrant at a residence on Spears
Avenue when he observed a black Ford stop in the middle of
the road about 20 yards below the residence. The car sat in
the roadway for about 30 seconds before the officer initiated
a traffic stop and found that the driver, Bowers, had had
his driver's license revoked for DUI in 1999. He was charged
with driving on revoked license.
* Thomas Wayne Lowe Jr., 24, 274 Austin Springs
Road, Johnson City, was arrested Saturday by CCSD Deputy Laverne
Julian and charged with public intoxication and possession
of drug paraphernalia.
* Anthony Leon Guinn, 20, 118 Spears Ave., was
arrested Saturday by CCSD Deputy Laverne Julian after he turned
himself in at the sheriff's department. Guinn was charged
in warrants with failure to appear in Criminal Court, evading
arrest, theft over $500, failure to appear on burglary, arson
and evading arrest.
* Tommy Wayne Slaughter, 48, 115 Mulberry Lane,
Johnson City, was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Todd Hamm.
According to the report, officers from Johnson City Police
Bureau pursued a black Chevrolet Lumina into Elizabethton
on Highway 67, where the driver abandoned it in front of Grindstaff
Chevrolet. The vehicle came back registered to 418 Gap Creek
Road. Dispatchers advised they had received information that
a white male wearing a gray sweatshirt was seen running through
back yards behind Holiday Market. While searching in the area
of 418 Gap Creek Road, Deputy Hamm observed a man matching
the description run through the back yard and onto the back
porch of the residence. The officer yelled for the man to
stop, however, he continued on. The officer jumped a fence
and chased the man, identified as Slaughter, into the house,
where Slaughter sat down in a chair and pretended not to know
why the officer was there. He was told that he was under arrest
and was instructed to stand and place his hands behind his
back. Slaughter refused and was taken to the floor, where
he continued to resist and stiffened his arms to prevent being
handcuffed. He was told that he would be sprayed with a chemical
agent if he did not cooperate and was then cuffed without
further resistance. Slaughter was charged with public intoxication
and resisting arrest. He faces additional charges from Johnson
City Police.
* Michelle St. Pierre, 25, 409 S. Beech St.,
Johnson City, was arrested Saturday by CCSD Deputy Laverne
Julian and charged with public intoxication.
* Michael Todd Street, 22, 110 Jim Deal Road,
was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Todd Hamm on a warrant
charging him with violation of probation.
* Michael Normal Hall, 34, 324 W. St., Apt. 3,
Roan Mountain, was arrested Saturday by CCSD Deputy Laverne
Julian following a traffic stop. Hall was charged with second-offense
DUI.
* Shane Everett Williams, 26, 166 Stockyard Road,
Telford, was arrested Friday by CCSD Sgt. Keith Range and
charged with driving on revoked license and violation of registration.
* Samuel Joseph Hyder, 48, 105 Loveless Road,
was arrested Friday by CCSD Deputy Jeff Markland following
a traffic stop. Hyder was charged with fourth-offense driving
on revoked license.
* Carter Campbell, 28, 222 W. I St., was arrested
Sunday by CCSD Deputy Laverne Julian after the officer observed
a blue Ford Escort traveling south on Highway 91 with one
tail light. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle and
the driver accelerated. The officer followed the vehicle about
2 miles at speeds around 70 mph before the vehicle turned
onto Oval Brook Road, which came to a dead end. The driver,
identified as Campbell, exited the vehicle while it was still
rolling and ran into the woods. He was apprehended after a
short pursuit and was charged with driving on revoked license
and evading arrest.
* Deborah Ann Scott, 46, Second Ave., Hampton,
was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Todd Hamm and charged with
public intoxication.
* James E. Warren, 40, 149 Tiger Creek Road,
Roan Mountain, was arrested Friday by EPD Ptl. Brooke Mullins
after the officer was dispatched to White's Fresh Foods on
Stateline Road regarding a male slumped over the steering
wheel of a vehicle. When the officer approached the vehicle,
the motor was running and the window halfway down. A male
subject, identified as Warren, was leaning over the wheel
and did not respond to the officer's knock. When the officer
opened the door, Warren looked up, but was unable to answer
questions. He was charged with DUI.
* Angela F. Oliver, 27, 188 Rainbow Circle, was
arrested Friday by EPD Ptl. Tonya Scott on a capias charging
her with failure to appear on public intoxication, DUI, and
child endangerment.
* Sharon Pogue, 44, 620 New Leigester, Asheville,
N.C., was arrested Friday by EPD Ptl. Tonya Scott on a warrant
charging her with violation of probation.
* Chad Lewis Royal, 24, of Elizabethton, was
arrested Monday by officers of Johnson City Police Bureau
following a traffic stop at State of Franklin Road and Greenwood
Drive. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant charging
him with burglary and theft over $1,000.
* Two juveniles were arrested Sunday by officers
of Johnson City Police Bureau after they responded to a burglar
alarm at the Observation and Assessment Center, 200 Quarry
Road. When officers arrived, they found that an employee,
Kenneth Foxx, 58, had been assaulted by two of the juvenile
residents who stole the victim's vehicle and fled the scene.
The juveniles were later located and charged with especially
aggravated robbery and theft of a vehicle.
Indecent exposure
* EPD Sgt. Matt Bailey was
dispatched Saturday to Horton's Sports, 724 W. Elk Ave., regarding
a report of indecent exposure. A store clerk advised the officer
that a white male came into the store asking about store hours
and business cards, then left for about two minutes and returned,
saying he was just looking around. He then asked her if the
store had a dressing room and she told him it did. The male
then began to perform a sexual act on himself and said something
to her which she could not understand. The clerk began to
scream and started shouting at the man to get out. She said
he left the store, running toward Dairy Queen. The man was
described as middle-age, wearing black jeans, black shirt
and black boots. The officer was unable to locate the subject.
Burglary
* Jason Chad Hammonds, 27, 1080 Smalling Road,
Johnson City, reported Monday to CCSD Sgt. Patrick Johnson
that he left for Florida Jan. 25 and returned home Sunday
to find his home had been burglarized. Hammonds said he had
planned to have central heat and air installed and because
he was leaving town, had arranged to leave a key hidden in
order for them to come look at the job. Entry was made through
the front door, which showed no sign of forced entry or damage.
The rear door had not been attempted. Missing were $1,200
cash, a PlayStation 2, RCA VCR, Samsung DVD, 150 music CD's,
Craftsman tool box with tools, and approximately $3,500 in
Dale Earnhardt memorabilia.
* Roger Woods, 109 D.O. Johnson Road, Hampton,
reported Friday to CCSD Sgt. Patrick Johnson that someone
had broken into a garage at his home and had taken a large
amount of tools. The garage was equipped with motion detection
lights, however, burglars damaged and removed the meter to
the building, rendering them inoperable. The front door of
the garage was pried open and about $2,500 in tools removed.
* Jeff Cruz, 22, 122 Wedgewood Circle, reported
Friday to EPD Ptl. Jack Ramsey that when he attempted to unlock
the door to his father's office he found that the lock would
not work. The officer found a tool mark on the door frame.
Also, the door to a crawlspace had been forced open. Nothing
appeared to have been taken.
Fire
* CCSD Deputy Jeff Markland was dispatched Friday
to a structure fire at 983 Simerly Creek Road. Amos William
Stevens Jr., 58, told the officer he noticed smoke coming
from the water pump house, which was furnished with electricity
and a fuse box. The inside of the building was destroyed.
The fire, which was extinguished by Hampton and Roan Mountain
Volunteer Fire Departments, appeared to be electrical in nature.
* CCSD Deputy Sarah Ryan responded Saturday to
a structure fire at 205 Okolona Road. When the officer arrived,
West Carter Volunteer Fire Department was already on the scene
extinguishing the blaze. The unoccupied double-wide mobile
home is owned by Paul Chandler of Unicoi.
* CCSD Deputy Sarah Ryan responded Saturday to
a vehicle fire at 124 Butterfly Lane. Travis L. Chesser, 28,
130 Country Garden Road, told the officer he was moving the
1991 Subaru when the engine began revving, indicating the
accelerator was stuck. Chesser said the vehicle then caught
fire. West Carter Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the
blaze. The vehicle appeared to be a loss.
Vandalism
* Peter Slagle, 158 Peter Slagle Road, Watauga,
reported Saturday to CCSD Deputy Bradley Johnson that sometime
prior to Thursday, someone came onto his property and attempted
to damage or destroy a TD-12 International dozer, valued at
more than $20,000, by starting the equipment and driving it
off the side of a high ledge. The dozer blade caught on the
base of a tree, however, and the attempt was unsuccessful.
The rear end final drive was damaged.
