"...autopsy showed he suffered 73 chop wounds — including 66 to his head and neck. The attack was allegedly because Babb refused to share his liquor."

It's sh*t like this that has driven Nashville to begin seeking ways to establish homeless camps that are regulated, patrolled and provide a measure of safety to residents in the camps. Whether the effort pans out remains to be seen but at this point, that it's even on the table is a good thing.....

Charge upped in Washington County homeless camp ax killing

Published 09/05/2008 By BECKY CAMPBELL

Charges against the remaining suspect in a homeless camp homicide were increased after a Washington County grand jury reindicted the man on a first-degree murder charge.

James Garner, 43, previously faced a second-degree murder charge in the ax-chopping death of 38-year-old Scott Babb, but the new charge came when the grand jury met this week.

Garner also once had a co-defendant — Terry Wade McIntosh, 53 — but his charge was dismissed last month after prosecutors received a blood spatter report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab. It indicated “virtually no” blood spatter on McIntosh’s clothing, according to his attorney, Gene Scott, which cleared Mc-Intosh of participating in the killing.

Babb’s body was discovered June 7, 2007, at the dead end of Mary Street in a homeless camp. The autopsy showed he suffered 73 chop wounds — including 66 to his head and neck. The attack was allegedly because Babb refused to share his liquor.

In another homicide in Washington County, the grand jury indicted Brenda Bolton, 39, 3628 Tenn. Highway 107, Chuckey, on a charge of first-degree murder. She’s accused of the July 4 shooting death of Keylando Webster 21, formerly of Nashville, at Bolton’s trailer.

Five men also were indicted in connection to the case on a charge of accessory after the fact. The men charged are Gabriel Lee Hoyle, 25, 118 Bill West Road, Telford; Jason Lynn Holt, 28, 153 Paul Mathes Road, Chuckey; Ronnie James Rogers, 37, 311 Cassi Road, Chuckey; Travis L. Graham, 29, 426 Cassi Road, Chuckey; and Keith Allen Mathes, 51, 222 Maple Swamp Road, Chuckey.

Bolton told sheriff’s investigators Webster and two other men moved into her home without her permission, began selling crack cocaine and threatened her and her daughter if she called to report them. “They talked about cutting my fingers off,” according to the statement she gave investigators.

When Bolton went to her home on July 3 to get some of her belongings, she said the man she called “We” — who was apparently Webster — “came out of my bedroom” and asked where she had been. The man she called Cateye was in the kitchen, she said.

Bolton told investigators she saw a handgun lying on a table. She picked up the weapon and pointed it at We, who reached toward his waistband. Bolton said she fired the gun and shot the man, then left the trailer and got into a truck with the five men.

Investigators said Bolton allegedly made comments about “taking care of the problem,” prior to Webster’s death.

Bolton is jailed on a $100,000 bond and will appear in Criminal Court with her co-defendants Sept. 16.

In an attempted-second degree murder case, the grand jury returned an indictment against Terry McDavid Shepherd, 21, of Elizabethton, for allegedly trying to run down a Washington County sheriff’s deputy.

The incident happened July 16 outside the ACCP probation office, located at West Walnut Avenue and McKinley Street. Deputy Lawrence Haws responded there to arrest Shepherd for a probation violation.

Shepherd apparently received a phone call from someone waiting in his truck that Haws was there, investigators said.

As Shepherd attempted to drive away, Haws had his weapon drawn and ordered Shepherd several times to stop the vehicle. Haws testified during a preliminary hearing in Sessions Court that Shepherd revved his engine and Haws had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

Shepherd was on the run for several days before he turned himself in July 27.

The grand jury also indicted a former Washington County Detention Center officer accused of taking tobacco and rolling papers into the jail for inmates.

Timothy Ray Crain, 40, of Johnson City, who worked at the jail from November 2001 until May 2008, was indicted on eight counts of official misconduct.

Investigators said Crain went into certain inmates’ property at the jail to get their bank cards, went to their bank and withdrew $100, then took Bugler tobacco and rolling papers to the inmate. On other occasions, Crain met with relatives of inmates to pick up tobacco and other items to take into the jail, according to a probation report in Crain’s court file.

The tobacco sales were discovered after one of the inmates told a private investigator, who gave the information to another law enforcement agency.

Crain is free on a $16,000 bond.

Charges against the remaining suspect in a homeless camp homicide were increased after a Washington County grand jury reindicted the man on a first-degree murder charge.

James Garner, 43, previously faced a second-degree murder charge in the ax-chopping death of 38-year-old Scott Babb, but the new charge came when the grand jury met this week.

Garner also once had a co-defendant — Terry Wade McIntosh, 53 — but his charge was dismissed last month after prosecutors received a blood spatter report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab. It indicated “virtually no” blood spatter on McIntosh’s clothing, according to his attorney, Gene Scott, which cleared Mc-Intosh of participating in the killing.

Babb’s body was discovered June 7, 2007, at the dead end of Mary Street in a homeless camp. The autopsy showed he suffered 73 chop wounds — including 66 to his head and neck. The attack was allegedly because Babb refused to share his liquor.

In another homicide in Washington County, the grand jury indicted Brenda Bolton, 39, 3628 Tenn. Highway 107, Chuckey, on a charge of first-degree murder. She’s accused of the July 4 shooting death of Keylando Webster 21, formerly of Nashville, at Bolton’s trailer.

Five men also were indicted in connection to the case on a charge of accessory after the fact. The men charged are Gabriel Lee Hoyle, 25, 118 Bill West Road, Telford; Jason Lynn Holt, 28, 153 Paul Mathes Road, Chuckey; Ronnie James Rogers, 37, 311 Cassi Road, Chuckey; Travis L. Graham, 29, 426 Cassi Road, Chuckey; and Keith Allen Mathes, 51, 222 Maple Swamp Road, Chuckey.

Bolton told sheriff’s investigators Webster and two other men moved into her home without her permission, began selling crack cocaine and threatened her and her daughter if she called to report them. “They talked about cutting my fingers off,” according to the statement she gave investigators.

When Bolton went to her home on July 3 to get some of her belongings, she said the man she called “We” — who was apparently Webster — “came out of my bedroom” and asked where she had been. The man she called Cateye was in the kitchen, she said.

Bolton told investigators she saw a handgun lying on a table. She picked up the weapon and pointed it at We, who reached toward his waistband. Bolton said she fired the gun and shot the man, then left the trailer and got into a truck with the five men.

Investigators said Bolton allegedly made comments about “taking care of the problem,” prior to Webster’s death.

Bolton is jailed on a $100,000 bond and will appear in Criminal Court with her co-defendants Sept. 16.

In an attempted-second degree murder case, the grand jury returned an indictment against Terry McDavid Shepherd, 21, of Elizabethton, for allegedly trying to run down a Washington County sheriff’s deputy.

The incident happened July 16 outside the ACCP probation office, located at West Walnut Avenue and McKinley Street. Deputy Lawrence Haws responded there to arrest Shepherd for a probation violation.

Shepherd apparently received a phone call from someone waiting in his truck that Haws was there, investigators said.

As Shepherd attempted to drive away, Haws had his weapon drawn and ordered Shepherd several times to stop the vehicle. Haws testified during a preliminary hearing in Sessions Court that Shepherd revved his engine and Haws had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

Shepherd was on the run for several days before he turned himself in July 27.

The grand jury also indicted a former Washington County Detention Center officer accused of taking tobacco and rolling papers into the jail for inmates.

Timothy Ray Crain, 40, of Johnson City, who worked at the jail from November 2001 until May 2008, was indicted on eight counts of official misconduct.

Investigators said Crain went into certain inmates’ property at the jail to get their bank cards, went to their bank and withdrew $100, then took Bugler tobacco and rolling papers to the inmate. On other occasions, Crain met with relatives of inmates to pick up tobacco and other items to take into the jail, according to a probation report in Crain’s court file.

The tobacco sales were discovered after one of the inmates told a private investigator, who gave the information to another law enforcement agency.

Crain is free on a $16,000 bond.