COFFEE COUNTY - The prison population of the Coffee County Jail is at a "dangerous level," Sheriff Steve Graves said, and he is asking county officials to take action to ease the problem. The peak official capacity for the jail is 192, but as of this past week the population was at 270. In a letter to county officials, Graves proposes either adding to the present jail or building a new jail. The letter from Graves to County Mayor Ray Johnson was read at the recent meeting of the Coffee County Commission's Budget and Finance Committee: "Today, the jail population is 270 plus. This population continues to grow and has become a danger to the employees. The Sheriff's Department has three and sometimes four corrections officers working per shift; this is far under state mandates for this population. [continues 343 words]
The state medical examiner has officially determined that two deaths that occurred at this year's Bonnaroo music festival were due to much drug usage. Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said he has received from forensic pathologist Dr. Bruce Levy the official autopsies for Brandon Taylor, 20, of Lowell, Mich., and Amber Lynn Stevens, 22, Flatwoods, Ky. In both cases, Graves confirmed, the cause of death was ruled accidental and due to "acute combined drug toxicity." "'Too many drugs too soon' is what it stated," Graves said. Taylor was in the VIP camping area and Ms. Stevens was in the general camping area during the music and camping festival that took place June 11-13 off New Bushy Branch Road near Manchester City Limits. Each subject was taken to Medical Center of Manchester before being pronounced dead. [continues 370 words]
