SHERIFF'S REPORTS:



Police recover stolen vehicle
Constable McRee Whitten said that on Thursday, Dec. 24, he found a Chevrolet Tahoe down an embankment off Barnes Valley Road. It was about 150 feet down in a hollow. The vehicle was reported stolen to the Pigeon Forge Police Department on Monday, Dec. 21. Whitten wrote that when he found the vehicle, the wheels had been taken off and replaced with mismatched wheels. The door lock had been pulled, the steering column broken, the grill removed, and the back window broken. Terry Wesley Fairfax, of Knoxville, was apparently the owner of the Chevrolet. The vehicle was towed to Hartford Towing, in Hartford.

Accident off Point Pleasant Road
Brittney Jarnigan, 24, of Liddington Lane, in Morristown, said that on Saturday, Dec. 19, she was backing up a 2001 Honda CRV SUV at 3404 Point Pleasant Road. She said she did not see a 1990 Toyota Corolla behind her and hit it, causing minor damage to the Toyota's front bumper, Deputy Sheriff Randall Hartsell reported.



POLICE REPORTS:



Burglary of church
Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, at 234 Lincoln Ave., in Newport, suffered a burglary of its offices on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Edwin Franks, head of the Children's Ministry, said offices had been broken into, including his. Nothing of value was missing from his office, Franks said. However, Donna Triplett, Administrative Assistant, said her office down the hallway had items missing from it, including a Cracker Barrel gift card for $50 and an envelope with $21.65. Michelle Hannah, church secretary, said a master key and $30 in an envelope were taken. Also reported stolen were other keys and a roll of stamps worth $350. The damage to the church and items taken totaled $1,771.65, Patrolman Joshua Veridal reported.

DUI 2nd offense, two other charges
Doyle Jr. Shelton, of 288 Stoneview Way, in Cosby, was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 23, at Walmart, at 1075 Cosby Highway, in Newport, and charged with DUI 2nd offense, driving on a revoked license, and implied consent law, Sgt. Jason Smith reported. Police allegedly received a call of a possibly intoxicated male leaving Murphy USA gas station. Police also allegedly made contact with the defendant, in a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse, and who was stopped at the intersection of Cosby Highway and a Walmart entrance.

Driving on a revoked license
Justin R. Day, 23, of 139 Roy Road, in Cosby, was arrested on Christmas, Dec. 25, at about 01:45 a.m., and charged with driving on a revoked license, Patrolman Robby McMahan reported. Day was arrested at the Walmart parking lot, at 1075 Cosby Highway.

Man allegedly run over
Frank William Hickman, 69, said he drove his company sweeper truck down at 416 Eastern Plaza Center to sweep. He was allegedly emptying trash bins and drove up to the entrance of the Dollar Store and made contact with an unknown subject, later identified as Samuel Gladstone Gunn, 50, 323 Prospect Avenue, Newport,  attempting to enter the business after hours. Hickman said the store was closed. Gunn walked away behind the sweeper truck. Hickman then backed up his sweeper truck to empty more trans bins. He then got out of the truck and saw Gunn on the ground. Gunn said, "You hit me." Gunn said to Patrolman Robby McMahan that the last thing he could remember was he was lying on the ground in pain. The officer noticed a road rash on both of Gunn's legs and upper thighs. Gunn was taken by Allied Ambulance to Baptist Hospital of Cocke County for treatment. Hickman was taken to the Newport Police Department. Both subjects had blood drawn.

Fraud/theft over $100
Lowland Credit Union said seven checks were cashed from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 at its offices. They were allegedly written from an account at another bank that were returned because the account had been closed. The total value of checks was $2,315, Patrolman Donald Coakley reported. A possible offender was named.

Property damage over $1,000
Natasha Budiraharja, 24, the owner of Blue Smoke Grill, reported property damage done to the restaurant's property by a relative of an ex-employee. The allegedly irate man, who came to the restaurant looking for the owner but did not find her, left in his vehicle, driving over a curb and into the restaurant's landscaped area, causing damage estimated at about $2,200, Patrolman Heather Lawson reported. The incident occurred on Thursday, Dec. 24, at 2:15 p.m., at the restaurant, which is located at 115 Epley Road.

Theft under $500
Constance Toby, 26, of 665 Lamons Circle, in Newport, said she forgot her purse she placed on a counter at Newport Pawn Shop, on Thursday, Dec. 24, at 4 p.m., and shopped in the store. When she retrieved the purse, she noticed the following items missing: a pocketbook (valued at $40), a picture wallet ($5), a wallet with white flowers ($5), three social security cards, registration ($15), and a Trac phone ($20), for a total of $85, Patrolman Matthew Elliott reported.

Assault alleged
Stacey Nicole Kelly, 32, of Hidden Estates, in Newport, said on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 10 p.m., she was traveling west on Highway 25/70 when a Chevrolet Blazer stopped rapidly in front of the vehicle in which she was a passenger. Kelly said the driver of the Chevrolet pulled into the Kenjo BP parking lot at 984 West Highway 25/70. Kelly said her husband, Gregory Kelly, 35, who was driving the vehicle Kelly was in, pulled into the parking lot behind the Chevrolet. Kelly said she exchanged words with the driver of the vehicle, Kimberly Belcher, 45. A fight broke out involving five people, including a juvenile. Belcher and the juvenile went to the hospital, Patrolman Billy Woody reported.

Credit/ATM card fraud alleged
Danny A. Cooper, 57, of 136 Transport Drive, in Newport, said on Thursday, Dec. 24, that he noticed a charge of $213 to his account at National Bank of Tennessee that he had not authorized. Cooper named a suspect, Patrolman William Garber reported.

Aggravated assault
Randy Hurley, 44, of Allens Chapel Road, in Newport, said that recently, when he approached Margie's Bar, at 218 Woodlawn Ave., in Newport, as he attempted to get out of his vehicle, two individuals approached him and began a fight. Hurley said he was stabbed by one of them with a sharp object on the lower right portion of his stomach. Officers noticed a cut on Hurley in that area and redness to his ear due to a fight. According to the police report, both the alleged aggressor and Hurley had strong odors of alcohol about them. The other alleged assailant said Hurley fell on his own power on some small rocks on the road near the entrance to Margie's Bar, according to a report by the Newport Police Department.

Accident at Walmart
An accident occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 5:20 p.m., at Walmart, at 1075 Cosby Highway, in Newport, Patrolman Travis Gorrell reported. Samantha V. Jones, 28, of 168 Dry Fork Road, in Del Rio, parked a 1998 Toyota Camry in a parking space at Walmart and was still in the car when Frank Brown, 73, of Highway 73, in Newport, allegedly made a left turn in his 2002 Chevrolet Silverado into a parking space beside the one Jones was in. However, Brown said he misjudged the distance between the two vehicles and struck the rear fender of the Toyota, doing very minor damage.