Legal

Foster mother accused of statutory rape (05/03/08)
A Shelbyville foster mother has been indicted by the Bedford County grand jury for allegedly having sex with a foster child she had access to. Alea Rhea Rippy, 25, has been charged with eight counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, according to true bills issued by the grand jury on April 21...

Patel sentenced for tax evasion (05/03/08)
A Shelbyville businessman will spend less than a year in federal prison after he pled guilty to income tax evasion earlier this year. Dharmendra B. Patel, 41, of Shelbyville was sentenced Thursday in Chattnooga by U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier to serve nine months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release...

Riddle pleads 'not guilty' in Floyd murder (04/28/08)
LYNCHBURG -- A Moore County grand jury indicted a Tullahoma man on charges of first degree murder Friday in the stabbing death of a young Wartrace man. Jacob Wayne "Jake" Riddle entered a plea of not guilty of murdering 20-year-old Joseph Timothy Floyd of Wartrace...

A big bang at the Fire Academy (04/25/08)
If you think you hear explosions around Bedford County next week, there isn't anything to be worried about. "Post blast training" is to be conducted at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy (TFACA) on Unionville-Deason Road by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) next week for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in preparation for possible deployment...

Injunction bars Tyson from advertising claim (04/23/08)
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday barring Tyson Foods from advertising that its poultry products don't contain antibiotics thought to lead to drug resistance in humans. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett was a victory for rivals Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms Inc., who are suing to stop the advertisements...

Murder suspect bound over to Grand Jury (04/23/08)
LYNCHBURG -- A Tullahoma man has been bound over to the Moore County grand jury, who will decide if first degree murder charges are warranted for the stabbing death of a Wartrace man. Jacob Wayne "Jake" Riddle of Tullahoma has been charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of 20-year-old Joseph Timothy Floyd, who was fatally stabbed in the early morning hours of Feb. 2 at a party in the Lost Creek area of Moore County near Tims Ford Lake...

Bell Buckle hires judge, attorney (03/29/08)
Bell Buckle's board of Mayor and Aldermen met for a brief special called meeting Friday to hire a municipal judge and a new city attorney. The board voted to hire Bill Haywood, who serves as Chapel Hill's municipal judge and city attorney for Lewisburg, as judge for the small village at a cost of $300 per session...

Timely phone call led to grand jury action (03/24/08)
Bedford County's grand jury has indicted a Shelbyville man on theft and traffic charges arising from a December incident that culminated with his arrest at about the time police were interviewing the complainant. With a suspect in custody, an observant officer noticed his prisoner had a cell phone, so he had a fellow officer call the victim's number. The cell phone found on the suspect began to ring, according to police reports...