In the case involving theft charges related to signs taken from a Mockingbird Drive property on September 30, the 2 defendants, Crossville water resources director Jerry Kerley and William Harwell both took pre-trial diversion on the misdemeanor theft charges.
Both men will serve 6 months on probation.
According to the state of Tennessee's website, "Pretrial Diversion is governed by TCA 40-15-105 and is also referred to as a suspended prosecution. It is important to note that the individual has not pled guilty or been found guilty yet. A person may be granted Pretrial Diversion if the requirements as stated in the statute are met. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into by the District Attorney and the Defendant. The Defendant must meet the terms of the MOU. If the terms are not met, the prosecution is no longer suspended and the District Attorney is allowed to proceed with the case. If the Defendant chooses to, there can be a trial. When the diversion period is successfully completed, the Defendant asks the court to submit an Order of Expungement to TBI marked Suspension of Prosecution TCA 40-15-105."
Though it appeared the case would be settled through pre-trial diversion, that offer turned into a request for a hearing by the defendants and to give time for preparation, the case was moved out an additional week.
Kerely and Harwell were in court for a while this morning and returned later in the afternoon where the continuance was agreed to by the DA's office and thier attorney Jimmy Smith.
Signs at the Mockingbird Drive property before the theft
Still from neighbor's video shot of the suspects preparing to
A misdemeanor summons has been issued for Crossville water resources director Jerry Kerley and another man, identified as William Harwell of 275 Kearney Drive, and both men face charges over the reported theft of a number of homemade signs from a yard on Mockingbird Drive.
Frame from the video of the theft incident
Part of the incident was caught on tape by a neighbor who also got the license number of the truck that turned out to be registered to Jerry Kerley. City records show that Kerley was on the clock in his job for the city at the time of the incident.
Exclusive Video of the incident
Kerley's son, city councilman Jesse Kerley was initially listed as a suspect in the incident on a police report but the investigation by the DA's office indicates Jesse Kerley was not in the truck at the time of the incident.
The owner of the signs, J. R. Blankenship whose mother lived at the Mockingbird Drive house before she passed away recently told Jim Young Reporter that the DA's office recovered the signs and has returned them to him.
District attorney General Bryant Dunaway confirmed that the signs had been recovered.
Signs that were at the Mockingbird Drive residence before the theft
The two men will face the charges in Cumberland County General Sessions court at a future date. The charge is a Class A misdemeanor and the maximum penalty is up to 11 months and 29 days though General Dunaway said it was unlikely they would face the maximum penalty.
Crossville city police are
investigating an incident at the Mockingbird Drive house that has
been the location of a number of controversial political signs
concerning Crossville city councilman Jesse Kerley. Those signs are
part of a continuing feud between J. R. Blankenship and Kerley.
The incident occurred at around 9:00 AM
Friday morning, September 30 when two men in a white crew cab pickup
truck allegedly removed signs from the property, putting them in the
back of the truck and then leaving the scene. Those signs have been
posted for some time and are critical of councilman Jesse Kerley. A
neighbor caught the incident on video and also was able to get the
license tag number of the truck.
Video showing the incident at 279 Mockingbird Dr.
The person in the video bears a strong resemblance councilman
Kerley's father Jerry Kerley getting into the driver's side of the
truck. The other individual in the video is not clearly
identifiable. Jerry Kerley is employed by the city of Crossville as
the director of water resources.
Still from the video
Still from the video
The incident between Jerry Kerley, Jesse Kerley and councilman Pete Souza on June 2 that has lead to assault charges filed against Jesse Kerley reportedly included references by Jerry Kerley to Mr. Souza about Souza supposedly making signs for Mr. Blankenship. The next court date for the assault charges are Thursday October 6. Both Blankenship and Souza have denied Souza had anything to do with the signs and Blankenship says he makes his own signs.
Blankenship has appealed the fine placed by city judge Ivy Gardner against him for distributing unsigned flyers seeking evidence on city officials of wrongdoing. Reports that Jesse Kerley sought to have Blankenship arrested for charges including allegations of driving a vehicle without proper registration or insurance have been made as part of the recently filed ethics complaints made by Mr, Souza.
This is the second time there has been
an attack on the signs posted against councilman Kerley at the
Mockingbird property. The first time several months ago Mr.
Blankenship had placed a game camera that captured still photos of a
perpetrator with a sledge hammer damaging the signs. The photos did
not clearly show enough to identify the person in the photo.
Previous attack on signs at the Mockingbird house.
Sources say two police reports have
been made on the incident to the Crossville police department, one by
the neighbor and second one by J. R. Blankenship who put the signs up
on the property owned by a family member. The incident is under
investigation.
The stolen signs have already been replaced
with cardboard versions.
After the incident, replacement signs of cardboard were posted.
