Press Releases

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained a conviction against a burglar caught in the act by a homeowner who used an old iPhone as a security camera. Jason Travis Sewell, 36, was convicted of Aggravated Burglary. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Sewell must serve fifteen years in prison.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Criminal Court Division obtained multiple convictions today against a man who struck two people leaving a University of Tennessee football game, requiring one victim to have facial reconstructive surgery. Gordon Shane Johnson, 36, was convicted of Aggravated Assault, Assault, and Evading Arrest.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained a conviction against a felon who kidnapped a twenty-year-old woman at a West Knoxville shopping center. Michael Sean Green, 41, was convicted of Aggravated Kidnapping.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s DUI Unit obtained a six-year sentence today against a career offender with six prior DUI convictions. Following a two-day trial in June, John Palladin Gibson, 43, was convicted of his seventh offense of Driving Under the Influence. At a sentencing hearing today, Judge Steve Sword sentenced Gibson to serve six years in prison.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained multiple convictions against a man who was caught in the act of a home invasion by the homeowner and shot. Mark Brandon Caldwell, 35, was convicted of two counts of Aggravated Burglary and one count of Theft. At a sentencing hearing today before Judge Scott Green, Caldwell was sentenced to serve thirteen years in prison consecutive to an eight-year sentence for another Aggravated Burglary case.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained multiple convictions against a man who raped a second grader. Joshua Michael Stewart, 34, was convicted of Rape of a Child and two counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained twelve convictions against a property offender with fifty-seven prior felony convictions. David Lee Dalton, 52, was convicted of six counts of Aggravated Burglary, one count of Attempted Aggravated Burglary, one count of Burglary, and four counts of Forgery. Under the terms of the agreement, Dalton was sentenced to twenty years in prison that must run consecutive to a twelve-year sentence out of Washington County.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained multiple convictions against a school janitor who solicited explicit photographs of underage girls over Facebook messenger. Dustin L. Dotson, 37, was convicted of three counts of Solicitation of a Minor. As part of the agreement, Dotson pled guilty-as-charged and received the maximum sentence.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained a conviction against a clerk who used a computer in the Judicial Commissioner’s office to email child pornography. Joshua Ryan Fettig, 22, pled guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and received a sentence of eight years to serve at one hundred percent.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit obtained convictions against a man from Detroit who was selling heroin and pills in Knoxville. Frazier Lee Savage, 43, was convicted of Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Heroin and Alprazolam in a Drug Free Zone and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit obtained a conviction against a woman for selling her prescription pills. Mary Lynn Cansler, 45, was convicted of Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Oxycodone.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit obtained convictions today against a man whose heroin dealing resulted in the death of a twenty-four-year-old victim. Paxton Levont Everett, 23, was convicted of Facilitation of Second Degree Murder and Sale of Heroin. Under the terms of the agreement, Everett was sentenced to serve eleven years in prison.

A repeat offender was sentenced to twelve years without the possibility of parole after being convicted by prosecutors in District Attorney General Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit. In a June trial, Calvin Lyndell Dibrell, 52, was convicted of Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Alprazolam in a Drug Free School Zone.

The ringleader of a drug trafficking organization was sentenced to serve twenty-three years in prison today after being convicted by prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit. In an August trial, Waynard Quartez Winbush, 30, was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Sell and Deliver Heroin in a Drug Free School Zone, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Sell and Deliver Oxymorphone in a Drug Free School Zone, Possession with Intent to Sell Oxycodone in a Drug Free Park Zone, and Possession with Intent to Sell Oxymorphone in a Drug Free Park Zone.

A Crips gang member who committed two home invasions in 2014 against the same victim at two separate residences was sent to prison for twenty-one years after being convicted by prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit. In a July trial, Kenneth Demarcus Williams, 27, was convicted of Aggravated Burglary, Facilitation of Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s DUI Unit obtained multiple convictions today against a drunk driver who killed his son and critically injured his nephew. Steven Dare Steelman, Jr., 35, was convicted of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, Reckless Endangerment, Driving Under the Influence Third Offense, Driving on a Revoked License, and Failure to Provide Evidence of Financial Responsibility.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Major Crimes Unit obtained multiple convictions against a convicted felon who shot Knoxville Police Department Officer James Wilson in his ballistics vest. Matthew Lee Pryor, 31, was convicted of Attempted First Degree Murder and Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Pryor received a fifty-year sentence that must be served consecutive to another fifty-year sentence imposed for shooting at federal agents in Florida.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit obtained multiple convictions against a drug dealer for her role in the overdose death of a forty-nine-year-old victim. Dollie Renee Cox, 33, was convicted of Facilitation of Second Degree Murder along with heroin and methamphetamine distribution offenses. As a result of her plea, Cox received a sentence of twenty years in prison.

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained seven felony and three misdemeanor convictions against a career offender who already had nine prior felonies. Glenn Lavester Golden, 49, was convicted of five counts of Aggravated Robbery, one count of Attempted Aggravated Robbery, one count of Burglary, and three counts of misdemeanor Theft.

A member of the Skyline Piru street gang was sentenced today to seventy-two years in prison for his role in a heroin distribution enterprise following a trial by prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit. Antonio Smith, 45, was convicted in a June trial of two counts of Sale and Delivery of Heroin in a Drug Free Zone