Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland: From WRCB Channel 3… A convicted felo
Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland:
A convicted felon accused of raping and killing a Tennessee corrections administrator and then escaping from prison on a farm tractor was sentenced to life without parole Monday after striking a deal with prosecutors.
Curtis Ray Watson told a judge that he agreed to plead no contest to first-degree murder in the perpetration of a rape in the death of Tennessee Department of Correction administrator Debra Johnson, 64. He also pleaded no contest to aggravated rape, and guilty to seven additional charges, including aggravated burglary and escape.
Prosecutors had initially filed a notice to seek the death penalty should Watson be convicted at trial in connection with the Aug. 7, 2019 attack. Premeditated first-degree murder was one of the charges dropped under the plea deal. He is currently being held at a maximum security prison in the Nashville area.
Lauderdale County Judge Joe Walker gave Watson, 46, a life sentence for the murder charge and an additional 25 years for the rape charge. Sentences for the other charges were to run concurrently with the life term.
In news today…
The Bradley County Commission met on Monday, covering several items of business. During the meeting, many gave their condolences to the family of the recently passed Corky Whitlock. Commissioner Crye proposed a resolution, to be voted on next week, to adjust the compensation of School Board Members. The chairperson’s monthly compensation per meeting would increase from $300 to $800, and other board members’ compensation would increase from $200 to $600. Multiple audience members spoke at length over their concerns for the increase in school board compensation, stating that an increase is definitely needed (as there has not been one in approximately 28 years, but many take issue with the amount of the increase. Commissioner Winters notes that the proposed increase would put the county school board on par with the Cleveland City School Board in terms of per-meeting compensation.
A lawsuit alleges that Chattanooga Police officers falsely arrested a Black man who had called them to report that a white teenager had crashed into a building.
In May 2021, Michael James, a Hamilton County resident, filed a lawsuit against the City of Chattanooga and several officers, saying they violated his civil rights during an incident that happened last year.
According to the lawsuit, James had been driving in Chattanooga around 4 a.m. on May 6, 2020, when he saw a Nissan SUV “traveling in an erratic and dangerous manner,” and that it almost hit his vehicle.
James said there were two people in the SUV, both of them minors, with the driver being a 14-year-old white girl. The lawsuit alleges that at one point the teens ‘flipped off’ James, and then ran a red light before going off road and hitting a building.
When officers arrived after he called 911, James – who is African American – said one of the officers pointed a gun at him, and he was handcuffed. James said he and his car were searched without his permission, and that he was tested for intoxication. The lawsuit says he had not consumed any alcohol or drugs.
He says the officers did not do the same for the 14-year-old girl who had crashed the vehicle. She was not arrested or charged, in spite of her not having a license or insurance for the vehicle, the attorneys said.
The lawsuit says the parents of the teens decided not to press charges against James, but police did, charging him with two counts of aggravated assault. The charges were dismissed after several court appearances.
James is suing for a violation of his civil rights, false imprisonment and battery, among other allegations.
Attorneys are calling for a combined $415,000 in damages.
