A continuing investigation by Drug Enforcement Unit detectives for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office led to the apprehension and arrest of 31-year-old Mark Daniel Bowman on charges related to the discovery of almost 200 marijuana plants inside his residence on Mount Bethel Road.

Bowman was not home when patrol deputies responded February 5 to a call of a burglary-in-progress. Upon entry through an unsecured door to see if anyone was inside deputies noticed the distinct odor of marijuana and observed several marijuana plants. Finding no one, they returned outside and contacted the DEU. A search warrant was obtained to re-enter the residence.

Approximately three days later Bowman was arrested by U.S. Customs agents at the Miami airport boarding a flight to Ecuador.  He was in the custody of Florida authorities until Wednesday when he was returned to Bradley County to face criminal charges.

Those charges are possession of schedule VI drug for resale, possession of schedule I drug for resale, cultivating marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bowman was arraigned in General Sessions Court on Thursday and bond was set at $75,000. His next hearing will be on February 22.

Mark Daniel Bowman

As a public official I want to see that the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office is as transparent as possible.

Transparency builds trust!

So, in order that we operate at the optimum level we need the trust of the general public. Individuals need to know they can trust us when our deputies investigate criminal activity. When citizens ask not to be identified when sharing some intelligence, they should be confident of that commitment.

When a citizen serves on a jury, that person should know the deputy is truthful and has made a thorough investigation before an arrest is made on a crime.

There must be confidence that our deputy sheriffs have set aside any bias, prejudice, or grudges that would hamper good judgment in the prosecution of a case.

As a longtime public servant I want to be as accommodating to the public as I can be. As long as it is legal, ethical and prudent, I will work at helping people if it is in my power to do so. I will work to be as fair to anyone in Bradley County as I would be to a close friend.

If we have a problem with an employee at the Sheriff’s Office we will be as forthcoming as possible with information, but will strive, also, to still be ethical in our dealings with employees. They have civil rights too, and we must consider their families and their reputations, as well.

In some cases that we investigate we have to hold some of the information until the case is fully developed.

Several years ago we began to receive complaints about illegal gambling machines operating in our county. We could only thank callers for the information and tell them we would follow up on the information. We could not tell them that a joint undercover operation was already going on between the Sheriff’s Office, other area law enforcement officers, the TBI and the FBI. After a short time we raided all these places and collected around 400 illegal gambling machines.

Another example is when a resident of the county complained to one of the deputies about a "dirty cop" who was into drugs.

This person remembered the cop as a uniformed patrol officer, not a plain-clothes officer. What the person didn’t know was the officer had been transferred into the detective division to serve as an undercover agent with the drug unit.

The deputy in question, of course, could not divulge that information.

We also have to be careful about information that would libel someone. This same rule applies when certain information is withheld at a press conference for fear it will prejudice a potential jury.

Then, there are the frivolous lawsuits that are filed in which an attorney normally advises you not to comment for fear that some information might be skewed.

Personally, I would rather tell my side of the story and expose the misinformation and fully explain all to the public.

Most of us have the tendency to quickly form an opinion without hearing all the facts. Some people are fond of saying there are two sides to every story — my side and your side.

Another point of view that was held by an old retired sharecropper was — there are three sides to every story — my side, your side and the right side.

I strongly believe in accountability.

In our free society we must expect that our public officials be as open as possible.

This office of sheriff, which you the people have entrusted me with, dates back over a thousand years to old England.

The office of sheriff is provided for in the Tennessee Constitution. That is why it is a constitutional office. That is, also, why the sheriff’s salary is set by the Tennessee State Legislature.

The sheriff must give account every four years for his stewardship of the office.

Every registered voter has a say in this accountability procedure. This is democracy in its purest form, and sheriffs all across America are very alert to the sensitivity of their voting constituencies.

We must never allow this voting right to be compromised to back-room bureaucracies like those that exist on many levels in the federal government.

These bureaucrats are protected by so much red tape that they never have to give account to anyone.

I have mentioned that we are working on a career track for our professional deputies.

This will provide job protection for most everyone. While the sheriff and the top one or two officials in the administration should always be accountable to the voting public, we can certainly maintain this accountability and still provide job protection to our hard-working deputies.

My political enemies and my political friends have harassed me, usually in a teasing way, saying that I don’t talk enough to be in politics. My wife, also, get a little flustered with me at times, because I am not a "big talker."

With this in mind, I certainly appreciate these opportunities to have this one-way conversation with all of you who read the Cleveland Daily Banner each week.

Yet, it is not really just a one-way conversation, because I hear from many of you every week by e-mail, telephone and in chance meetings in the marketplace and around town.

I want to say thank you for the comments and suggestions that many of you have made to me.

Oh, by the way, some of my friends think that I am talking more!

Warrant team deputies and drug enforcement detectives for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, working to arrest David Robert Overbay on a warrant for violating conditions of community supervision, found an active meth lab Thursday at 135 Spearfish Lane.

Investigation revealed Overbay had been living there with three other adults. Once he was in custody the owner of the property gave permission for deputies to search his room and in it they found two bags of methamphetamine and three scales.

From the time they had entered the home drug enforcement detectives noted a chemical odor that is consistent with methamphetamine labs. When the door to a back bedroom was opened the odor became much stronger. The room was found to have chemicals and other items used in the production of meth.

In addition to the adults, a two-year old child resided in the home and was exposed to chemical vapors released during the mixing of toxic substances.

Overbay, 41, was also charged with initiation of meth manufacture and simple possession / casual exchange.

Theresa Dawn Rich, 28, Eric Lamar Massengill, 29, and Wendie Lemons, 31, face similar charges. Massengill and Lemons were also charged with child endangerment.

David Robert Overbay

Theresa Dawn Bowman Rich

Eric Lmar Massengill

Wendie Marie Lemons

Work by patrol and drug enforcement officers for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the discovery Saturday night of a sophisticated indoor marijuana grow operation at a home on Mount Bethel Road.

Deputies’ initial response to the residence was the result of a 9-1-1 call of a possible burglary in progress. When an unlocked rear door was opened to check for suspects the deputies noticed the odor of marijuana and two dogs loose inside the residence. At that point they closed the door and contacted detectives in the Drug Enforcement Unit.

The DEU obtained a search warrant and entered finding approximately 195 plants ranging in height from 3 to 4 feet. In addition industrial lighting connected to timers and plant food to enhance growth was found.

The investigation is continuing. At this time one person is being sought for questioning and no arrests have been made.