Guilty pleas entered in assault, drug, theft cases

Heather Mullinix, Crossville Chronicle, Tenn.
·4 min read

Sep. 18—A short Discussion Day court docket in Cumberland County Criminal Court Sept. 8 produced five guilty pleas in cases ranging from assault, to drugs and theft.

Discussion Day dockets are designed to set aside a time allowing state and defense attorneys opportunity to discuss pending cases and to learn if cases are negotiable or headed for trial.

Sometimes judges make appearances on Discussion Day to take guilty pleas and on Sept. 8, Judge Gary McKenzie was on the bench. The following docket action took place:

Guilty pleas

—James Shelby Brannon, 48, pleaded guilty to an information charging possession of more than .5 grams of meth with intent to sell and/or deliver and received an eight-year suspended sentence, with one year to serve and the balance on supervised probation. Fine and court costs are waived. The charge stems from an Aug. 27 arrest.

—Rodney Jacob Jarrett, 54, charged with aggravated assault, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and received a four-year suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation under terms and conditions of judicial diversion. This means the plea is set aside and if all conditions of diversion are met, Jarrett will be eligible to petition the court to have the charge removed from the record. As part of those conditions, Jarrett must complete anger management classes, forfeit a .9 mm handgun, perform 75 hours of community service and pay the victim's deductible on any damage claim.

The case stems from a June 26 road rage incident on Northside Dr. and investigated by CPD.

—William E. Kelly III, 20, pleaded guilty to an information charging theft of property of more than $1,000 and was granted judicial diversion. The one-year sentence was set aside for a probationary period of one year and Kelly will be eligible to have the charge removed from his record if probation and diversion is successfully completed. The charge stems from a July 6 incident.

—Nevaeh Grace Stephens, 18, pleaded guilty to an information charging felony evading arrest and driving under the influence and received a two-year sentence with 30 days to serve at 75% with the charges served concurrently. Court costs were waived and judicial diversion granted, meaning the plea is set aside during the probationary period and if all terms and conditions of diversion are met, Stephens will be eligible to have the charges removed from her record. The charges stem from a July 27 incident.

—Stephanie Laura Williams, 51, charged with possession of less than .5 grams of meth with intent to deliver, pleaded guilty to the charge and received a three-year suspended sentence to be served concurrently with a Morgan County sentence. The Cumberland County charge stems from a Dec. 8, 2021, arrest.

Deadline cases

—Christopher Jacques Baird, aggravated assault, domestic assault and child abuse, neglect or endangerment, continued to Nov. 14.

—Brandon Hunter Davis, two counts of simple possession of meth, continued to Oct. 16.

—Margaret Lindsay Fitzgerald, possession of more than 300 grams of meth, possession of meth with intent to sell and/or deliver, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony, simple possession of meth, simple possession, simple possession and possession rug paraphernalia, motion hearing continued to Nov. 7.

—Steven Lamont Green, theft of services of $2,500 to $10,000 and possession of a Schedule VI drug with intent, continued to Nov. 14.

—Deloris Jeannette Hendrixson, petition, motion or writ (post judgement), hearing continued to Oct. 16.

—Aaron Wayne Letter, domestic assault, continued to Oct. 16.

—Michael Clois Melton, case in boundover status, continued to Nov. 6.

—Donald Wayne Jackson, voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a felon, Public Defender's Office appointed to represent Jackson and continued to Oct. 3.

Petitions/motions

—Thomas Mack Arnold, first-degree murder, motion for new trial continued to Oct. 16.

Probation violations

—Jonathon Lee Arnold, bond set at $1,000 and probation violation hearing continued to Oct. 2.

—Violet Wilma Atkinson, probation violation hearing continued to Oct. 16.

—Jonathan Wayde Russell, probation violation, Public Defender's Office appointed to represent Russell and hearing continued to Oct. 3.

—Christopher Devon Bass, Public Defender's Office appointed to represent Bass, bond set at $1,000 and hearing continued to Oct. 2.

—Kevin Joel Griffith, pleaded guilty to a probation violation and agreed to serve 90 days in jail at 75% and then reinstated back on probation.

—Jeremy Lynn Manis, pleaded guilty to a probation violation and is to serve the balance of his sentence.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.