Lawyer for hog farmer asks for DNA results

LEWISBURG -- The attorney for a Bedford County hog farmer, who's charged with polluting four water wells, is asking the state for results of chemical tests, according to court records filed Wednesday.

"I'm told that there was DNA testing and that it was inconclusive," Fayetteville-based attorney Ray Fraley said on behalf of his client, Charles Edward "Charlie" Haskins, 61, of Haskins Chapel Road near Sutton Creek.

Haskins was indicted Aug. 19 on charges of reckless endangerment, vandalism and pollution, alleging that he allowed more than half a million gallons of manure to flow from his farm. He was arrested by Bedford County Deputy Kevin Holton on Aug. 22 when he was booked and released on a $5,000 bond in 31 minutes.

"What were the bacteria in the wells?" Fraley asked after Haskins was arraigned in Marshall County Circuit Court by Judge Robert Crigler who noted Haskins' plea of not guilty.

Complicating scientific inquiry is what happens to hog manure when it seeps into the ground and enters the aquifer, Fraley said. Manure may have been a nutrient for bacteria in the ground, he said of information he wants from the state.

Several months ago, officials from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation brought information to District Attorney Chuck Crawford about Haskins. Crawford took the case directly to the Marshall County Grand Jury, bypassing General Sessions Court. Crawford anticipated assistance from the state Attorney General's Office.

Prosecuting Haskins in Marshall County Circuit Court is Assistant Attorney General Troy McPeek who, according to Fraley, "has been very cooperative in sharing information."

"We'll get to the bottom of this," the defense attorney said.

Haskins has said the distance between where manure was spread and the wells is 1.8 miles.

"What other wells may have been affected or contaminated?" Fraley asked. "It's my understanding that wells between the two were tested and the tests came back negative."

"Mr. Haskins is certainly not a hardened criminal," Fraley said. "He would not have done something like this intentionally."

A Marshall County Circuit Court officer said Haskins' case is to be called again on Oct. 7.