Published: November 02, 2009 03:34 pm      

Mercer Sheriff — Oct. 22-27, 2009

MERCER SHERIFF



Oct. 22

• FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE: Members of the Mercer County SWAT team and other investigators executed a search warrant at a Camp Creek residence on Silver Streak Road. Two parties believed to be involved in a Giles County, Va., convenience store breaking and entering and grand larceny investigation were allegedly staying at the residence. As officers attempted to assume their positions surrounding the residence, Dep. J.E. Coulter reported that members of the SWAT team were unable to reach their tactical locations and called off the search for the night. Before officers left, however, a subject allegedly approached them and illuminated them multiple times with a flashlight before fleeing through the woods on foot. Coulter reported that officers searched the area but were unable to locate that subject once they lost sight of the person. They then executed the search warrant involving the theft of several thousand dollars worth of cigarettes from the Giles County business. Coulter reported several pieces of clothing named in the warrant, along with some of the cigarettes and the suspect's alleged accomplice were located during the search. Kimberly A. Rhoton, 45, of Camp Creek, also known as Kimberly Benton, was arrested that night. Warrants were pending for the suspect who was not apprehended.

Oct. 23

• VIOLATION OF DVP: Dep. J.D. Ellison received a complaint alleging violation of a domestic violence protective order in Quail Valley. James Dempsey, 29, of Princeton, was reportedly present at the home where his estranged wife was staying at the time. The officer located the suspect in a traffic stop near the home, where the man allegedly admitted he had violated the protective order. Ellison also noted that he served another warrant on the man at the same time of the traffic stop.

• OBSTRUCTING, ASSAULT ON AN OFFICER: Cpl. S.A. Sommers was dispatched to assist a home confinement officer on Airport Road. There, Roger Lee Hager, 32, of Bluefield, allegedly refused to cooperate with Home Confinement Officer M. Popp and told her he wanted to go back to jail. When Sommers and Dep. M.S. Horn arrived, the man still refused to cooperate and allegedly assumed a boxer's stance. As officers attempted to arrest him, he continued to resist, fighting both Sommers and Horn. With the assistance of two other officers, Hager was ultimately arrested. Sommers noted he observed a small bump on Hager's head and some minor cuts or abrasions, but Hager allegedly refused medical treatment for his injuries.

Oct. 24

• DOMESTIC DISPUTE: Dep. J.D. Ellison responded to Nubbins Ridge Road, where a domestic disturbance was reported. Both parties were separated when the officer arrived, and Ellison reported there did not appear to be threat of violence at the moment. After talking with both parties, Ellison determined there was no crime committed, but the man at the scene volunteered to stay at a nearby residence overnight to avoid confrontation.

• PETIT LARCENY: Dep. J.R. Coburn received a complaint from a Sandlick Road woman alleging someone stole tools from her front porch. The investigation is ongoing.

Oct. 25

• BATTERY: Dep. G.C. Paitsel received an intake complaint from a woman who reported she was attacked by a man as she attempted to pick her sister up and take her home. She alleged the man hit her in the face and forehead, scaring her enough to drive off and leave her sister there. Paitsel advised her of the intake process and provided formal statement forms, along with instructions on how to proceed with charges.

• PUBLIC INTOXICATION, PEDESTRIAN IN THE ROADWAY: Dep. A.M. Ballard responded to U.S. 460, where a subject was reported in the roadway, seemingly trying to get hit by a motorist. Ballard located a white male subject near the Twelve Mile Road intersection waving his hands over his head. The officer reported the man refused to move for his vehicle until the last possible moment and that he smelled strongly of alcohol. The man allegedly advised he had been to Cowboy Up in Bluefield and was attempting to get back the Motor Lodge in Pembroke, Va. Jason Michael Roberson, 32, of Danville, Ky., was arrested on a charge of public intoxication.

• DOMESTIC BATTERY: Dep. J.R. Coburn and Dep. J.E. Coulter responded to a domestic complaint on White Oak Creek Road in Athens. There, a woman reported her father was extremely intoxicated, struck her and broke numerous things inside the house. The suspect left the scene on foot, and officers initially left the scene. They were called back, however, when the subject returned. Coburn reported the man became belligerent with them, cursing and refusing to cooperate. The complainant reported she wished to pursue charges. Officers arrested Theodore L. Kessinger, 78, on a charge of domestic battery for allegedly striking the daughter.

Oct. 26

• GRAND LARCENY, DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, BREAKING AND ENTERING AUTO: Dep. A.M. Ballard responded to Debbie's Lounge on Athens Road, where a complainant reported someone broke into a vehicle by using a fire extinguisher. A car CD player, camera, lens and an iPod were reported missing.

• TAKING THE IDENTITY OF ANOTHER: A Princeton man reported someone fraudulently ordered a PlayStation 3 and games with his name and information. He also reported that a family member had been added to his cell phone account and purchased two cell phones without his knowledge or permission. The case was forwarded to the detective bureau.

• BREAKING AND ENTERING AUTO, PETIT LARCENY: Dep. E.P. Parks responded to Morning Dove Road, where a complainant reported a vehicle parked outside the residence had been broken into and that a large amount of loose change was taken. The officer contacted employees of a local convenience store to see if any transactions had taken place with a large amount of change. Charges were pending.

• BURGLARY, PETIT LARCENY: Dep. E.P. Parks responded to Lawrence Mobile Home Park, where a residential burglary had already taken place. The complainant advised someone had kicked the door in and stolen his air compressor. The complainant told the officer he would check local pawn shops for the equipment and would inform him if it was located.

Oct. 27

• DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: Sgt. S.J. Cary investigated a report of a vehicle window being shot out on Monroe Street. The alleged victim was extremely intoxicated and had reportedly passed out before the officer arrived, but witnesses told him she had been out with two unknown male subjects. When she returned home, an altercation allegedly occurred outside with two other male subjects in a full-sized, silver truck. The subjects in the truck allegedly fired two shots into the blue Chevrolet Cavalier parked nearby and fled. Cary searched the area without identifying possible suspects. He advised witnesses to have the victim contact him if she wished to pursue charges.

• DOMESTIC BATTERY, ASSAULT: Dep. A.M. Ballard responded to a residence on Lorton Lick Road, where a domestic dispute was reported. While en route, the officer observed one of the subject's vehicles heading toward Bluewell . The officer made contact with the driver and passenger of the vehicle who reported they had just been involved in an altercation with the male's sister. Both occupants appeared to have injuries and were bleeding. The woman reported they were on the way to the hospital to seek treatment. After ensuring that the woman had a valid driver's license and insurance on the vehicle, the officer released them and continued on to the residence. There, a man told the officer that his estranged wife, the driver of the vehicle Ballard encountered, had arrived at the residence to pick up clothes and started an argument. The man reported he was able to get the two subjects in the vehicle out of his home, but the woman allegedly attempted to enter through a back window. The altercation also allegedly continued when the subjects attempted to gain entry to the man's sister's home. No one involved wished to pursue criminal charges, but the man at the house reported he planned to seek a domestic violence protective order.

• FRAUDULENT SCHEME: Dep. C. Williams and Dep. W.E. Rose responded to a Fern Street site in Bluewell, where someone allegedly impersonated a member of the Bluewell Public Service District. A man there reported he had paid an individual and people with him thousands of dollars in cash to pay for what he believed was the replacement of a sewer line near his residence. Officers reported it was clear the man was being taken advantage of and notified adult protective services representatives. The criminal case was forwarded to the detective bureau.

• DUI, DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE, DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT, BLOCKING A RESIDENTIAL ROADWAY, PARKING ON A ROADWAY: While on patrol, Dep. J.D. Gills reported seeing a white Ford truck blocking Low Road between Montcalm and Buttermilk Junction. The officer found the driver of the truck slumped over in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition and the truck running. The officer reported it took him nearly five minutes to wake Brenden Wayne Epperson, 31, of Rocky Branch Road. A blood-alcohol test allegedly showed him to register over the legal limit, and Epperson was charged with the listed offenses.