News & Media Releases
WILSON COUNTY SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO SIXTY YEARS
A Wilson County man will spend the rest of this life for sex crimes against three different vicitms. On Friday, May 10, 2024, Judge Brody Kane sentenced 50-year-old Pedro Barrera to 60 years in prison to be served at 100% with no early release eligibility....
Man Convicted In Reckless Killing Of Wilson County Teen
A Wilson County man was found guilty on Friday of recklessly killing a Mt Juliet teen. Caleb Mershon, 22, was convicted by a Wilson County jury of five men and seven women of recklessly killing Austin Gordon in September of 2022. Proof at trial established that...
Cemetery Vandal Sentenced to 12 years
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...
FORMER SMITH COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL COACH PLEADS GUILTY
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...
WILSON COUNTY MAN CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX ABUSE
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. ...
WOMAN SENTENCED TO THIRTY YEARS FOR MURDER
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...
D.A. LAWSON SELECTED TO JOIN SONS OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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...
Freeman pleads guilty to Life sentence
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...
Jackson County man sentenced to 20 years for sex crimes
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...
Former Trooper found Guilty of Observation without Consent
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...