A suspect faces burglary and other charges stemming from an investigation of a break-in at Keasler Inc. on Durkee Road.

The Criminal Investigations Division of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has charged Timothy David Cunningham of Decatur with taking part in the February 14th burglary during which a laptop computer and two camera were stolen and there was heavy damage to a filing cabinet. Cunningham came forward during the investigation providing detectives with information about the break-in they later determined to be false and a hindrance to their investigation

Both cameras were recovered. Cunningham, 20, is charged with Burglary, Theft over $1,000, Vandalism over $1,000, and False reports. He is currently free on bond.

 I read a couple of articles this past week in the Cleveland Daily Banner that interested me. The articles focused on the growing population of Cleveland/Bradley and the increased demand for services that a growing population demands. The articles offered further proof to support what I have been to saying since I took office in September of 2006. That is, Bradley County has one of the fast growing populations in Tennessee, and the BCSO must be competitive in terms of salary, equipment and manpower if we hope to keep up with the news of our growing population.

One of the Banner articles stated, “Population and industrial growth is a big topic in Cleveland, Bradley County and the Southeast Tennessee/North Georgia region. Residential growth is impacting the housing market, local school systems, area roads and highways and even recreation programs.

Law enforcement and public safety could have easily been included on that list. But it goes without saying that when the population increases, calls for service will increase and the potential for criminal activity will increase, and meeting those increased demands will require more equipment, training and manpower.

I’ve spoken often of our very successful inmate work program, where crews of low-risk inmates who are carefully supervised spend five days a week cleaning litter and debris from local roadsides, county property, as well as the property of some qualifying nonprofit groups. Each crew covers a number of miles each time they go out.

 By utilizing inmate work crews, the BCSO is saving taxpayers money that would normally go to expenses associated with litter pick-up. Inmates who participate in the program do not receive monetary compensation, but they are allowed to earn “credit” that can affect the terms and lengths of their sentence. Again, only low risk inmates qualify for the program and they are carefully supervised.

But these inmates can only do so much, and while they perform in a thorough and conscientious manner, all too often the roadways become clogged with litter again almost as soon as the crews get them cleaned. Where the crews will restore an area to its pristine nature, litter bugs seem to hit with a vengeance, leaving paper cups, fast food wrappers, paper bags, diapers, cigarette butts ashtrays and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

This was made clear to me recently after driving through an area the inmates had just cleaned and noticing the marked improvement. A day or so later, I passed that same area and it was already being choked with a new layer of trash and litter. If the public knew just how much litter the work crews clean from county roadways and public property every day, I think they would be surprised. But if they realized how quickly litter begins to re-accumulate, I think they would be shocked.

The Criminal Investigations Division of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two men for last year’s burglary at the Visitor’s Center of Red Clay State Historic Park.

Levi Bo Akin

A Bradley County Grand Jury on Wednesday, February 27, indicted Levi "Bo" Akin, 19, and Cameron Wayne Evatt, 18, on charges of vandalism, theft over $1,000 and two counts of burglary.

Detectives earlier recovered an Indian breastplate, an antique storage chest,

Cameron Wayne Evatt

Both suspects made bond and were released pending arraignment in Criminal Court.