Mt. Juliet Police conducted a search warrant Tuesday afternoon as part of a heroin and methamphetamine investigation that closed Old Lebanon Dirt Road near Nighthawk Lane. The search warrant included explosions that police described as "flashbangs," which were deployed as distractions because of information the individuals inside may have been armed, Mt. Juliet Police Lt. Tyler Chandler said. "So, using distraction methods, helps minimize risk for the Special Response Team members making entry," Chandler said. Old Lebanon Dirt Road between Nighthawk Lane and Eagle Trace Drive was closed for a period of time before being reopened. The Tennessean will provide additional information as details become available. [end]
When people swap recipes for ''pepper pot,'' this isn't what they're talking about. A marijuana delivery being driven to Lebanon was discovered by police hidden in chili and jalapeno pepper cans in January. That's nothing out of the ordinary, say drug enforcement agents and law officers all over Middle Tennessee. The unusual becomes the norm when it comes to drug dealers trying to hide their stashes, they say. ''Every way you can imagine and beyond the imaginable,'' Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said. ''I've seen it hollowed out in car mufflers and stuffed in spare tires of cars with the air blown back in. Inside toys, footballs and basketballs.'' [continues 673 words]
The Wilson County Sheriff's Department is trying to seize numerous collectible items, including a Joe Namath college jersey and a Titans AFC championship ring, that belong to a man arrested last fall in a drug-trafficking investigation. Deputies continued to use search warrants yesterday at three locations in the Midstate where they believe valuables were being stored that belong to James Gordon Keith, 59, of Mt. Juliet. Sheriff Terry Ashe said Keith's home, at 1001 Joanne Point in Mt. Juliet, housed many rare sports memorabilia. Ashe said this included football jerseys autographed by prominent players, historical European artifacts, a 1999 Tennessee Titans AFC championship ring, Christmas collectibles, expensive furniture and paintings. [continues 292 words]
County To See Plans For Expansion That Will Adequately House Inmates LEBANON - Sheriff Terry Ashe knows most people don't feel heartbreak when a prisoner like Paul Searcy says ''I sleep on the floor'' because of overcrowding at the Wilson County Jail. Many prisoners have no beds except mattresses on a floor at the Wilson County Jail, where winter's chill is definitely felt on the wall and floors. ''Sometimes you have no sheets or pillows,'' Searcy said. ''Everyone's on top of each other.'' [continues 637 words]
In the wake of drug-related homicide cases that have rocked the community over the past month, the Mt. Juliet Police Department is taking steps to increase its detective division. This week the City Commission approved on first reading $75,000 for two new detective positions by a 5-0 vote. Second reading for the resolution is scheduled for Oct. 28. "It's a response to what has happened the last few years," Commissioner Ray Justice said. "The unfortunate part is, the events of the last few months say we have a problem." [continues 127 words]
Officers Still Consider County A Safe Place LEBANON - Staring out the front door of the Criminal Justice Center, Sheriff Terry Ashe recalled the ''bloody year'' this county has seen. In the jail behind him were nine people charged with murder and several more charged with attempted murder. But it wasn't just the number that stood out. As Ashe said, it's the ''unusual nature'' of the homicides over the past 16 months that have been different in Wilson County. ''Some gruesome murders,'' he said. [continues 687 words]
