27-year-old James Jackson Conn of Smyrna is set to appear in General Sessions Court for his first disposition hearing on Thursday, Feb. 10 before being bound over to a Grand Jury for indictment. Conn is facing one count of aggravated arson and one count of first-degree murder for his role in Robertson County sheriff’s Deputy Savanna Puckett’s death. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation described Conn as an “acquaintance” of the 22-year-old deputy, although the agency has not commented as to the exact nature of their relationship.
Fire investigators are calling a deadly Robertson County house fire suspicious. Cooperstown Police Chief Tyler Hayley says the bodies of a man and woman along with suspicious items were recovered after firefighters put out the blaze on Errol Dowlen Road yesterday morning. Authorities say the people found in the home were in their 20’s or 30’s but haven’t released more information. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been called in to lead the case.
Wilson County Emergency Management is temporarily closing emergency substations as staffing issues continue to affect the agency. WEMA is short 26 EMTs and other workers. Employee and Wilson County Firefighter’s Association union president Colton Young says the positions are unfilled because EMTs with the agency make 25-percent less than those in surrounding communities. Lebanon Mayor Randall Hutto says the city is conducting a study to determine appropriate pay rates for the agency.
Tennessee lawmakers are considering legalizing medical marijuana. Four bills to legalize medical cannabis beyond the point-nine-percent THC that is currently allowed in the state were filed over the weekend. Two more bills that have been submitted would fully legalize medical marijuana and allow for growing, cultivating, and selling marijuana plants. It’s still early in the process as all of the bills would have to make it through committees.
