News & Media Releases

A Wilson County man has been sentenced to serve twelve years in prison for offenses involving Lebanon Cemeteries.  Justin Emler, 33, pleaded guilty to vandalism over $60,000 and desecration of a venerated object for overturning several gravestones in two...

A Smith County Middle School coach has pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes involving minors.  Jamal Carter was arrested in March of 2022 after allegations surfaced of inappropriate communications with minors.  Carter was a basketball coach and PE teacher...

A Wilson County jury has convicted a local man of multiple charges of sexual abuse against children.  Pedro Barrera, 49, was found guilty on all ten charges at the conclusion of a trial which began on Monday of this week and concluded on Thursday night. ...

A Gordonsville woman has pleaded guilty to the 2021 murder of a South Carthage man.  Tara Greene, 36, pleaded guilty to the offense of second degree murder in the death of Wendell Bennett occurring on February 26, 2021.  As a result of the plea, Greene will...

Local District Attorney General Jason Lawson has been selected as the newest member of the historical preservation club, the Sons of the American Revolution.   SAR, and its counter-part DAR, the Daughters of the American Revolution, are civic organizations...

A Trousdale County man has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and received a sentence of life in the state penitentiary. On Monday, October 16, 2023, Todd Freeman pleaded guilty before Judge Brody Kane to the 2021 killing of...

A Jackson County man has been sentenced to 20 years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Corrections for sexual crimes against teenagers. In June 2020 Dept. of Children Services, Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the...

On October 12, 2023, a Macon County jury convicted Keith Garrett, a former Tennessee State Trooper, of Unlawful Photography and Observation without Consent. The case arose after Garrett’s then-wife found videos on his cellular telephone depicting his eighteen...

A Macon County jury deliberated almost two and a half hours last Thursday, June 8, before finding 57-year-old Joseph Eugene Chestnut, Jr., of Red Boiling Springs, guilty of first degree murder, intentional & premeditated, and four counts of aggravated animal...

Local District Attorney Jason Lawson has received top recognition by his peers for his work in the area of child support collection.   At the annual statewide meeting of District Attorneys last Thursday, Lawson was named the 2023 winner of the Paul...