The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has had a busy few weeks, making several arrests including three inmates charged in an assault of another inmate.
According to Sheriff’s Patrick Ray, 29-year-old Dustin Allen Sullivan, 34-year-old Jerry Donald Cantrell, and 52-year-old Marcus John Peregoy were each charged in the assault. Each are under a $5,000 bond and will be in court on May 23.
Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, May 2, at 9:09 p.m. jail video surveillance showed Sullivan exchanging words with another inmate before walking up to him and inflicting several blows to the head. Cantrell and Peregoy could also be seen on the video joining in the attack.
On April 28, a deputy responded to Coconut Ridge Road to perform a welfare check on a woman behind the wheel of a silver Chevy Silverado, who was spotted driving on the wrong side of the road.
The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Farris, who appeared to have been highly intoxicated and was dozing in and out of consciousness. Farris was allegedly unsteady on her feet, and she refused to submit to field sobriety tasks. A strong odor of marijuana was coming from the vehicle.
While being escorted to the jail by a correctional officer, a glass container fell from her person that held more than 13 pills believed to be Alprazolam.
On May 1, 30-year-old Keith Clifford Lafreniere of Fall Creek Drive, Smithville, an inmate, was charged with vandalism for damaging a jail surveillance camera. He is under a $3,500 bond.
According to Sheriff Ray, at around 11:35 p.m., while manning the front desk, a jail correctional officer spotted Lafreniere in a cell trying to pull the camera off the ceiling. Other officers were notified and responded to the cell finding that Lafrenier had torn away the camera. They assessed the damage and informed Lafrenier that he would be charged. Lafrenier replied that he did not care and that he had committed the act because he was bored.
On May 2, a woman charged with DUI and for introduction of contraband into a penal institution, was charged with another crime, identity theft. Authorities say that 28-year-old Shadayda Storm Farris of Nashville is under a $10,000 bond.
During her DUI arrest, Farris gave the name of Skylar Fox to authorities, and gave her date of birth as November 14, 1995. Farris’s actual birth date is July 3, 1995. After her fingerprint confirmation came back through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), it revealed Fox’s real identity. Farris later allegedly admitted that the name and birth date she gave was that of a close friend.
That same day, 31-year-old Alyson Nicole Fiscus of Keltonburg Road, Smithville was arrested for assaulting a first responder. Her bond is $7,500.
Sheriff Ray said that a state trooper and a deputy had Fiscus in custody and were at the hospital to obtain a blood draw when Fiscus kicked the deputy in the groin area causing bodily injury.
On May 5, 37-year-old Ryan Joseph Ray of Hickman was arrested for driving under the influence. His bond is $3,500 and will be in court May 23.
A deputy was dispatched to Wolf Creek Road due to a traffic accident. Upon arrival, he spoke with Ray, who had been driving a blue BMW and had hit a parked Ford F150. According to the deputy, Ray smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet, and his speech was slurred.
On May 7, 41-year-old Justin Keith Liggett of Lewisburg was charged with a violation of an order of protection. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on May 23.
Sheriff Ray said a deputy responded to Pumpkin Hollow Road to conduct a welfare check on a woman. Liggett, who is under an order of protection to keep away from this woman, was on the premises. He was taken into custody.
That same day, 42-year-old Charles Shaman Cantrell of Atwell Drive, Smithville, was arrested for driving on a suspended license. He is under a $2,500 bond and he will be in court May 23.
Sheriff Ray said a deputy was patrolling New Home Road when he spotted a blue Toyota SUV leave its lane of travel and cross the solid white line. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Cantrell. A background check through central dispatch revealed that Cantrell’s license was suspended for failure to appear in court on January 9.
On May 8, 72-year-old Rick Allen Meurer of West Main Street, Smithville, was arrested for violation of the sex offender registry. He is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is May 24.
Sheriff Ray said that a detective learned that Meurer had failed to meet his requirements for reporting to the jail. He had last reported in September, 2023 and was to have reported again either seven days before or after January 12, 2024 but he had not done so.
The following day, 34-year-old Whitney Rochelle Byard of Nashville Highway, Liberty was arrested for domestic assault and vandalism. She is under a $8,500 bond and will be in court May 23.
At 11:56 p.m. a deputy was summoned to a residence on West Main Street, Dowelltown, due to a physical domestic complaint. Upon arrival, the officer found Byard outside and asked what had occurred. Byard replied that she had been screaming at her boyfriend from outside, but had never entered the residence.
The deputy then talked to Byard’s boyfriend who said that she had used a house key to make entry into the home and then began physically assaulting him. He then called 911.
The man reportedly had scratch marks on his back and arms. The deputy was also informed that Byard had allegedly used a key to scratch words of profanity on the hood of the man’s vehicle with an estimated cost of $2,000. Byard was taken into custody.
On May 10, 60-year-old Kevin Ray Wilson of Highland Street, Smithville, was charged with driving on a suspended license, possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is under a $50,000 bond and is due in court on May 30.
Dwayne Edward Reeder, Jr., 50, of Old Highway 53 Liberty, is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. His bond totals $46,500 with a court date of May 30.
Sheriff Ray said that a deputy spotted a white Chevy Blazer, and knowing that Wilson’s license was suspended, the officer pulled him over and confirmed that Wilson’s license was still suspended.
As Wilson stepped out of the Blazer, the deputy noticed a straw with a crystal-like substance in the vehicle’s door panel. Reeder was a passenger with Wilson and when he opened the door to exit the vehicle, the officer observed in the floorboard a baggie which held a clear crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine.
A subsequent search turned up a bag behind Wilson’s seat, which held a needle and three straws with a white crystal-like substance along with two pieces of aluminum foil wrapped around clear baggies containing what appeared to be methamphetamine that weighed 1.7 grams. Another piece of aluminum foil was found which had burn marks believed to have been left from someone having smoked meth.
On May 11, 34-year-old Brett Alan Simmons of McMinnville was arrested for driving under the influence. His bond is $3,500 and he is due in court on May 30.
Sheriff Ray said that a deputy was traveling west on Sparta Highway when he saw a black Ford Explorer leave its lane of travel. He pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Simmons, who smelled of alcohol. His eyes were also allegedly red and watery, and his speech was slurred.
Authorities say that Simmons admitted to having consumed alcohol prior to driving. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.
That same day, 18-year-old Joseph Bryson Stembridge of McMinnville was charged with underage driving while impaired. He is under a $2,500 bond and his court date is set for May 30.
According to Sheriff Ray a deputy saw a white Ford F150 company truck go through the intersection of South College Street and McMinnville Highway without coming to a complete stop. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Stembridge, who smelled of alcohol. His eyes were allegedly red and watery, and he admitted to having consumed an alcoholic beverage prior to driving. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.
On May 12, 49-year-old Joseph Nathaniel Bragg, Jr. of North Congress Boulevard, Smithville, was charged with driving under the influence and violation of the implied consent law. His bond is $7,000 and he will be in court on May 30.
A deputy was traveling west on East Broad Street in Smithville when he spotted a silver Ram 1500 pickup truck leave its lane of travel several times. The officer pulled over the automobile and spoke with the driver, Bragg, who smelled of alcohol. His eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred. Bragg would not agree to give a blood sample for testing or submit to field sobriety tasks.
