Mills pleads on eve of meth trial

Mar. 13—Paul Richard Mills was scheduled to go on trial last week on charges of possessing meth for resale but changed his mind at the last second and entered guilty a guilty plea to the charge. He was one of several defendants entering guilty pleas Feb. 27.

Mills was charged with possession of more than .5 grams of meth for sell and/or delivery which occurred on Aug. 19, 2019. According to Assistant District Attorney Philip Hatch, the charge stems from a traffic stop by CPD's Ptl. Keith Sadula.

Mills was a passenger in the vehicle and about 25 grams of meth was discovered near his seat during the investigation.

Mills received an eight-year sentence to serve at 30% as a Range 1 offender with credit for time he has served in jail in Cumberland and Roane counties. Fine was waived.

In other cases on the docket, the following guilty pleas were entered:

—William Keith Barnes, 61, charged with driving under the influence, pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $360, court costs were waived, is to serve 48 hours in jailed was placed on probation for 11 months and 29 days. The charge stems from an Aug. 12, 2020, arrest.

—David Lee Bilbrey II, 19, charged with reckless endangerment, failure to render aid at an injury crash and filing false report, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and qualified for judicial diversion. He was given a two-year suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation with the remaining charges to be dismissed. Restitution in the amount of $85,584.41 was listed as part of the sentence and Bilbrey is responsible for any expenses not covered by insurance.

The charge stems from an April 23, 2022, incident in the Walmart parking lot during which a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.

—Guillermo Francisco, 24, charged with reckless endangerment, pleaded guilty to facilitation of reckless endangerment and qualified for judicial diversion. Francisco was placed on probation for 11 months and 29 days. The incident stems from an investigation on March 5, 2020.

—Dylan Jakob Kempe, 21, charged with vandalism of up to $1,000, pleaded guilty to vandalism of up to $1,000, and received an 11-month and 29-day suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation. He is to pay $500 restitution and is banned from contact with the victim.

The charge stems from an Aug. 2, 2021, incident involving destruction of personal property investigated by CPD's Det. Koby Wilson.

—Thomas Troy Parson, 71, charged with possession of a Schedule II drug with intent to sell and/or deliver, pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a Schedule II drug and received a four-year sentence with a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 28 to determine whether Parsons qualifies for judicial diversion and how the sentence will be served.

The charges stem from Feb. 25 and May 19, 2021, undercover purchases of Oxycontin by CPD investigators.

—Sergio Romo, 26, pleaded guilty to second offense driving under the influence and a probation violation and is to serve 48 hours in jail, with furlough granted to attend long-term in-house rebab treatment. Nothing else is known about this charge.

—Jacob Daniel Simpson, 46, charged with domestic assault, pleaded guilty to the charge and qualified for judicial diversion. The plea was set aside and Simpson will serve 11 months and 29 days on supervised probation with credit for 77 days already served in jail.

The charge stems from a June 27, 2022, incident investigated by CPD's Lt. Johnathan O'Neal and Ptl. Ryan Ashburn.

—Steven Corey Stanley, 37, charged with simple possession of meth, simple possession and second offense driving on a suspended license, pleaded guilty to simple possession and given credit for 147 days already served. The charge stems from a traffic stop by THP Trooper Jeremy Newcome July 14, 2021. Remaining charges were dropped.

—Kyle Allen Sternquist, 35, charged with aggravated assault, possession of a handgun while under the influence, resisting a stop, arrest or search and public intoxication, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and received a five-month and 29-day suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation with forfeiture of the weapon.

The charge stems from a March 13, 2021, incident investigated by CPD Officers Andrew King and Samantha Seay.

—William Ray Heath II, 33, pleaded guilty to an information charging reckless endangerment and received a two-year suspended sentence to be serve on supervised probation, to be served concurrently with a General Sessions Court sentence,

The charge stems from a Dec. 31, 2021, vehicle crash at Genesis Rd. and Interstate Dr. that resulted in a passenger sustaining a head injury.

—James Andron Hinds, 48, pleaded guilty to an information charging possession of less than .5 grams of meth and received a four-year suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation. Items seized during the arrest are forfeited.

The charge stems from a Dec. 20, 2022, incident tied to a shoplifting report at Rural King. During that investigation, Hinds was found with a backpack containing over $2,000 in cash and narcotics. He is being given credit for 68 days already served in jail.

—William Brett Kearley, 50, pleaded guilty to two informations charging two counts of possession of more than .5 grams of meth for sale and one count of resisting arrest. He received a total of eight years with one year to serve and the balance on supervised probation.

Kearley is being given credit for 78 days already served in jail. All property seized during the arrests are forfeited, The drug charges stem from a CPD investigations April 23 and June 13, 2021, and an arrest Nov. 8, 2020.

—Kenneth Edward Kilby, 27, pleaded guilty to an information charging possession of meth with intent to sell and/or deliver and received an eight-year suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation as a Range 1 offender. The charge stems from a Feb. 13, traffic stop by CPD during which three small plastic bags of meth were found.

—Christopher Kenneth Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to an information charging felon evading arrest that occurred on Jan. 25. A CCSO deputy attempted to stop Miller for a headlight not working and Miller fled from the stop. Miller received a two-year sentence to be served at 35% as a Range II offender with credit for 33 days already served in jail.

—Jacob Jackson Webb, 37, pleaded guilty to an information charging attempted burglary and to a probation violation and received a one-year sentence to be served concurrently with the balance of a two-year probation violation sentence. Webb is being given credited for 32 days already served in jail.

The charge stems from a shoplifting incident at Rural King Dec. 16, 2022. Because Webb had already been banned from the business, the charge was raised from theft of merchandise to burglary. Item taken was a chain saw. An incident at KFC in Highland Square led to Webb's arrest.

Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com