The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department made several arrests, including one case where a cigarette landed a Dowelltown man in jail.
DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray told the Smithville Review that on July 15, 21-year-old Robert Stephen Derrick of Toad Road, Dowelltown, was charged with bringing contraband into a penal institution, and failure to appear.
Authorities say that while in the DeKalb General Sessions’s courtroom, Derrick was observed throwing something to a DeKalb County inmate. Officers recovered a tobacco cigarette and placed Derrick in custody.
He is $7,500 bond and will appear in court on July 29 on the contraband charge, but is being held without bond on a failure to appear warrant and is due in court in that case on August 23. Authorities say he left a treatment facility early, violating an order.
On July 12, 21-year-old Nicholas Miles Herlong of Morgan Avenue, Woodbury, TN, was arrested and charged with burglary and vandalism over $1,000.
According to Sheriff Ray, on May 15, 2020, Herlong entered a property on Sparta Highway, without the consent of the owner, with the intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault. Authorities say that he broke out multiple windows and entered the building.
Herlong was later located within one mile of the address by law enforcement and was bleeding heavily from his arms. There were also reddish-brown stains consistent with blood stains throughout the building. The owner estimated the damage to be $2,500.
Herlong is under a $12,500 bond and is due in court on the charges on July 29.
On July 13, 28-year-old Dalton Grady Moore of North Dixie Avenue, Cookeville, TN, was arrested for driving under the influence first offence. He is under a $2,500 bond and due in court on July 29.
Sheriff Ray said that Moore knowingly operated a motor vehicle on a public roadway, while under the influence of an intoxicant. A deputy observed a gold Toyota car traveling west on West Broad Street in Smithville, leaving its lane of travel multiple times. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with Moore, who authorities say was fidgety and appeared to be under the influence of some kind of narcotic.
Moore consented to a field sobriety test, which he performed poorly on. The deputy claims that Moore admitted to smoking marijuana prior to operating the vehicle, then refused a blood draw after being read the implied consent law. Moore was arrested, then a search warrant was obtained for the blood draw.
That same day, 24-year-old Braxton Kain Bennett of Smith Road, Smithville, was arrested on assault charges from a fight at the DeKalb County Jail.
Sheriff Ray said that on July 7, 2021, at around 11:58 p.m., while being incarcerated in the DeKalb County Jail, Bennett was seen on camera getting into a physical altercation with another inmate. Bennett slammed the other inmate to the ground and landed on top of him, causing an injury to the back of the inmate’s head. Bennett then struck the inmate with his hand one time. The inmate had to be transported to the hospital for treatment.
Bennett is under a $4,500 bond with a court date set for September 30, 2021.
On July 16, 46-year-old Kevin Donald Bogle of Fuston Hollow Road, Alexandria, was arrested for simple possession of a schedule I drug. He is under a $3,500 bond and will appear in court on August 5.
Sheriff Ray said that a deputy was on patrol in the Allen Ferry Road area when he observed Bogle operating a black Jeep. The deputy had prior knowledge of Bogle not having a driver’s license and initiated a traffic stop.
When asked if Bogle had any illegal items in the vehicle, the man stated that there were syringes in the Jeep. Bogle was then searched and inside his pocket authorities say they found a white waxy substance believed to be heroin.
On July 17, 30-year-old Jerry Wayne Perry of King Ridge Road, Dowelltown, was charged with driving under the influence first offence. He is under a $2,500 bond and due in court on August 12.
Authorities say that a deputy received a phone call about a stranded motorist on Cookeville Highway, just past Big Hurricane Road. Upon arrival the deputy made contact with Perry, who advised he had driven the vehicle from the Shell station in Silver Point.
The deputy said that Perry had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person and had slurred speech. Perry reportedly also advised that he had consumed a shot of moonshine 20 minutes prior to the deputy’s arrival. Perry was then asked to perform field sobriety tasks, which he performed poorly on.
