Latest news with #BlountCountySheriff'sOffice
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chris Hansen speaks on Alabama sting operation resulting in arrests
BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A recent Blount County undercover operation to catch online predators landed two men behind bars. The Blount County Sheriff's Office arrested Chase Andrew Abercrombie and Kody Ray Smith. Investigators said they were working with Chris Hansen. He hosts 'Takedown with Chris Hansen' and was the face of 'To Catch a Predator.' Abercrombie and Smith were charged with human trafficking, electronic solicitation, sex offenses involving minors and traveling to meet a child to perform a sexual act. Woman found dead outside Birmingham residence The men thought they were speaking with an underage child online. When they arrived at a sting house, however, deputies met them. Hansen said he found one detail of the sting disturbing. 'What surprises me about this particular sting is that one of the men, who is 30 years old, Kody Ray Smith, had just gotten married two weeks before he showed up at the sting house to try to sexually exploit, allegedly, a 15-year-old girl,' Hansen said. Abercrombie posted bond, while Smith was in custody as of Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Blount County drivers warned of mud-covered roads after Rock The Country festival
GREENBACK, Tenn. (WATE) — The Blount County Sheriff's Office is asking that drivers be aware of potentially-hazardous roads around Maple Lane Farms, which hosted the Rock The Country music festival last weekend. Thousands descended on the farm in Greenback for the two-day festival headlined by Kid Rock and Nickelback. On Thursday, the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook that there is heavy mud impacting Maple Lane, Lambert Road and Gregory Road. Were fish affected by Helene? Biologists conduct survey at Douglas Lake Heavy rains over the weekend impacted the festival and the campgrounds. ▶ See more top stories on Drivers in the area should proceed with caution. The Blount County Highway Department is working to remedy the issue, according to the sheriff's office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Traffic plan released with thousands expected at Rock The Country festival in Greenback
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Blount County Sheriff's Office is reminding the community about upcoming traffic impacts ahead of a music festival that is expected draw thousands of people. The Rock the Country Festival will take place at Maple Lane Farms in Greenback on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. According to a sheriff's office spokesperson, event planners are anticipating 12,000 to 15,000 attendees for each day of the event. Maryville quarry to add sound screening: How it affects you Sheriff James Lee Berrong said traffic impacts in the area of Maple Lane Farms, located at 1126 Maple Lane, will begin Thursday and continue through Sunday with deputies staged at all major intersections leading into the venue. Drivers should expect major delays, especially on Friday and Saturday as attendees arrive. Festival events on Friday will conclude at 11 p.m. following a performance by Nickelback. Kid Rock will close out the event on Saturday, which is scheduled to end at 11:20 p.m. East Tennessee model train company fears industry shutdown amid tariff war Deputies will be stationed along Henry Lane, Morganton Road, Maple Lane, Lambert Road, Gregory Road, and Meadow Road in the vicinity of the festival. See the Blount County Sheriff's Office traffic plan below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
4-year-old shoots himself — deputies find snakes, crocodile in ‘unkept' home
**Related Video Above: What is Goddard's Law in Ohio? ONEOTA, Ala. (WJW) — Two parents were taken into custody earlier this month after a 4-year-old boy shot himself in Alabama, leading to an investigation that revealed a home full of snakes and a crocodile. The Blount County Sheriff's Office was called by a local hospital the morning of April 4 for a report a child was shot, Sheriff Mark Moon said in a press conference last week. Suspect in custody after shooting at Florida State University Once at the hospital, a deputy was told the little boy was wounded in the arm and the leg and had been brought in by his parents. He reportedly had a belt around his arm serving as a tourniquet. A charge nurse reportedly told the deputy they heard the child's mother saying: 'See, this is what happens when you play with guns.' When asked what took place, the child told authorities, 'I got shot by a gun.' The child was eventually taken to Children's of Alabama and is stable after having surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery and has been taken into state custody, Moon said in the press conference. Following the shooting, the sheriff's office got a warrant to search the parents' home, which Moon described as 'unkept' and 'nasty' and without a working bathroom. Officer-involved shooting outside Cleveland Staples: What we know Authorities reportedly found multiple firearms and drug paraphernalia inside the home. They also found multiple animals, including several snakes of the 'constrictor' variety and mice and rats believed to be used as food for the snakes, according to Moon. Deputies reported that several of the snakes were deceased and covered in maggots. These were found in the same tank as the live snakes. The deputies also found what was labeled as a crocodile living in a large aquarium in the bathroom. Following the search, animals were removed from the property and the parents Cassandra Lutz, 39, and Alexander Corrie, 27, were taken into custody, Moon said. Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey told TV station WSFA that the pair was charged with reckless assault, child chemical endangerment, cruelty to animals and failure to properly bury livestock. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Boy, 4, Shoots Himself — Then Police Find 30 Snakes and Crocodile in Tank of Bathroom of His Home
An Alabama couple is under arrest after their young child accidentally shot himself — prompting an investigation that allegedly revealed a home overrun with mice, snakes, and unsecured firearms. Cassandra Lynn Lutz, 39, and 27-year-old Alexander Andrew Corrie, were arrested after their 4-year-old son shot himself in their Oneonta, Ala., home on April 4, Blount County Sheriff's Office said at a press conference last week. ` Officers were notified after the child was taken to the emergency room following the shooting. During the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at the child's residence and found 'several interesting pieces of evidence,' the sheriff's office said at the conference. They found several snakes — dead and alive — which investigators believe belonged to the constrictor family. Many of the snakes were dead and covered in maggots and had been left in the same containers as some of the living snakes, per the sheriff's office. Several boxes of mice were also found in the same room. The snakes were kept in plastic containers without lids and placed on shelves. There were other animals at the scene as well, the sheriff said. There were about 30 snakes, of which six were dead, and WSFA reported. Authorities also found a reptile, which the outlets reported was a crocodile. The reptile was inside an aquarium that covered the entire bathroom counter, the sheriff's office child, who was injured in his arm and leg, is expected to make a full recovery, per the sheriff's office. Lutz and Corrie were charged with reckless assault, chemical endangerment to a child, 10 counts of cruelty to animals and six counts of failure to bury/burn livestock, according to WSFA, which cited information from the Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey. For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit Read the original article on People
