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Purse Theft Suspect Arrest and Arrest of Suspects In Meth Making Material Theft Earns Three Officers Special Honors

KPD Officers of the Month Civilians of the Month May 31, 2005 - Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen named Knoxville Police Department Officers Steve Slagle, Jonathan Chadwell, and Floyd Fox as the March Officers of the Month. Officer Slagle has been with the department since December 1999. Officer Chadwell has been with the department since November 2003 and Officer Fox has been an officer since May 2002. Officer Chadwell and Officer Slagle are being honored for the arrest of three suspects involved with the theft of anhydrous ammonia. Officer Fox is being honored for his investigation and arrest of a purse-snatching suspect. Chief Owen said that on March 4, 2005 at approximately 1:40 a.m., Officer Slagle was patrolling on his beat when he conducted a property check on the Ice Chalet, which is located at 100 Lebanon Street. Officer Slagle discovered the gate doors had been pushed open since his last property check. After finding the gates open, Officer Slagle located a suspect wearing a facemask hiding in the gated area. That suspect, who was identified as Yancey Jefferies, was taken into custody. A second suspect was located hiding behind an anhydrous ammonia tank. That suspect, who was identified as Wesley Raines, was also taken into custody without incident. At the time of his arrest, Raines was in possession of a two-way radio. While Officer Slagle was questioning the two suspects, Officer Chadwell conducted a traffic stop on a suspicious vehicle along the railroad tracks that run near the Ice Chalet. The vehicle was registered to Jeffries. The driver of the vehicle, James White, was driving on a suspended license. In plain view were several tanks that are used for transporting products such as anhydrous ammonia. In addition, various tank fittings, a bolt cutter and several two-way radios were recovered in the vehicle. One of the radios was turned on and tuned to the same channel as the radio that was being used by Raines. All three suspects were interviewed and admitted they were in the process of stealing anhydrous ammonia for the purpose of reselling it to another individual. On March 8, 2005 at approximately 3:40 p.m., officer Floyd Fox responded to the Budget Inn located at 323 Cedar Bluff Road to investigate the use of a check card that had just been reported stolen from a purse in Knox County. The suspect that had fraudulently used the card to rent the room could not be located on the motel property. Officer Fox returned to the motel several more times during his shift until he located the suspect. Numerous items that were in the victim's purse at the time of the theft were in possession of the suspect. The suspect, Paul Grubbs, was arrested and charged with theft, forgery, simple possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Upon search of the suspect's vehicle, the purse and several items from the purse were recovered along with items from three additional burglaries and purse thefts. Investigators are currently reviewing additional cases that could involve Grubbs. Chief Owen said, "The actions of these officers demonstrates the concern they have for the citizens and for the businesses in their community. This is an excellent example of how these officers are accountable for activities conducted on their beats." Mayor Haslam said, "These officers are dedicated to their mission of making Knoxville a safer place for all residents and for that we are grateful for their service." The officers will receive a signed certificate from the Mayor and Chief and a free dinner from Ruby Tuesday Restaurant.

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