Sheriff Tim Gobble and several volunteers from the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Senior Visitation Program worked together recently to send out 2,000 jury summons.

“Serving jury summons are just another part of the sheriff’s statutory obligations,” Sheriff Gobble explained. “The clerk’s office compiles a list of names and produces the summons, along with other paperwork. This is then forwarded to us for processing and mailing.”

And that’s where the Senior Visitation volunteers come in.

“This takes a lot of time,” the sheriff said. “Each envelope contains a couple of items, so that’s 4,000 sheets of paper that must be sorted, folded and stuffed by hand. That’s a lot of work and I’m glad to have these hard working volunteers helping out. The fact that they’re here doing this frees up POST certified deputies to continue answering citizens’ calls and protecting the public, and that is actually a big savings to the tax payers. We owe all these volunteers a note of gratitude.”

Sheriff Gobble pointed out that prospective jurors are selected from motor vehicle records, not from voter registration rolls as many people believe.

“There are many people who may not be registered to vote, but most adults have valid drivers licenses,” he said. “That’s why the juror pool is selected in this manner.”

Sheriff Gobble also pointed out that just because a person receives a summons doesn’t necessarily mean they will automatically be selected to serve on a jury.

“Many are called but few are chosen,” he said. “Some people try hard to get out of jury duty, but odds are they will not actually serve on a jury anyway. However, most citizens consider serving on a jury their civic duty and are willing to do their part. I commend all those who serve.”

In addition to helping out with the preparation of the jury summons and other duties as needed, the Senior Visitation volunteers also serve another very important function in Bradley County. They routinely check on elderly citizens who are house-bound and often times have family that live too far away to regularly check on them in person. The volunteers offer registered seniors much needed companionship and conversation while helping to ensure their safety.

A decommissioned BCSO patrol car is kept at the Cleveland/Bradley Senior Activity Center on Urban Road and is used to check on seniors currently registered in the visitation program. Right now there are about 150 Bradley County seniors registered.

If you or someone you know would like to know more about this program, you may call (423) 478-8871 Thursday mornings between 9:00 a.m. and 12 noon. Or write to: Nelson Rayburn, Coordinator of Visitation, c/o the Cleveland/Bradley Senior Activity Center, 230 Urban Road, Cleveland, TN 37312 (next to the YMCA). Their phone number is (423) 559-2216.

After stops at several spots around Bradley County,  Sheriff Tim Gobble said All Hands on Deck Day was a success and will be something he does again.  On Saturday, deputies with the rank of Lieutenant and above who are not involved in regular patrols took to the streets to back-up deputies on calls and to listen to citizens who are concerned about their neighborhoods. Sheriff Gobble took time to make several stops during the day starting off with the Farmers Market on Peerless Road.  He also stopped at Mount Olive Church of God, Prospect Grocery, McDonald Grocery, and at a yard sale in Hopewell.  Below are some photographs from All Hands on Deck Day. 

The Farmers Market

The Farmers Market

UPDATE:  David Shane Couey was arrested early Friday morning and he is currently in custody at the Bradley County jail.

Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble and Cleveland Police Chief Wes Snyder today announced the culmination of an around-the-clock burglary and theft investigation with the arrest of one person and the identification of a co-defendant following a series of business burglaries in the area.

Roy Venson Godfrey Jr

The joint investigation of Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and the Cleveland Police Department focused on a string of burglaries and thefts between June 18 and July 23 that resulted in losses of cash and property over $71,000.

During the past week hundreds of man-hours have been devoted to the investigation by both agencies. On Wednesday, detectives took Roy Venson Godfrey Jr. into custody. He is being held in the county jail on multiple counts of Burglary and Theft. Warrants have been filed for the arrest of co-defendant David Shane Couey.

David Shane Couey

During the investigation the Criminal Investigation Units of the two agencies contributed resources to solve the burglaries.

Sheriff Gobble and Chief Snyder expressed appreciation to each of those involved in the investigation for their dedication and many hours of hard work that brought the case to a successful conclusion.

Godfrey, 38, of South Lee Highway, is charged with:

• Criminal Conspiracy
• 20 Counts of Burglary
• 3 Counts of Theft over $10,000
• 3 Counts of Theft over $1,000
• 2 Counts of Theft over $500
• 6 Counts of Theft Under $500
• 1 Count of Vandalism over $10,000
• 2 Counts of Vandalism over $1,000
• 1 Count of Vandalism under $500

Couey is a white male described as 5 foot 9 inches tall weighing around 130 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair. Couey is 33 years old and was last known to reside on Collegeview Drive. Warrants have been filed in the General Sessions Court for the same charges as Godfrey.

Anyone with information about where David Shane Couey can be found should call the BCSO Crime Tip Hotline 728-7336, CPD’s Crime Tip Number 728-4636, or 9-1-1.

Locations of the burglaries cleared in this case are:

Two-way radios, a sound system, and firefighter equipment taken from Waterville Community Elementary School and the Bradley County Volunteer Fire Dept. headquarters have been recovered by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. Both sites are on Dalton Pike and were burglarized early Thursday morning.

While checking the interior of the school yesterday morning Deputy Rusty Bryant discovered an office door had been broken and several items appeared to be missing from the office. Through further investigation with Deputy Zech Pike the point of entry was determined and the stolen property was recovered near the ball field of the Old Waterville School.

The school’s property was valued at $2,700.

While the investigation was continuing, deputies found signs of a forced entry at the Volunteer Fire Department in the Old Waterville School. Firefighter gear valued at $210 that was found with the school’s radios was recovered.

A full recovery was made on both thefts.

No arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the burglaries should call the BCSO Crime Tip Hotline, 728-7336