Whitwell police chief James Rodney Easterly. The city of Whitwell has a new interim police chief in the wake of the arrest of 46-year-old James Rodney Easterly who was chief until he was booked on a nine-count indictment on Thursday.
Easterly was freed Thursday on a $38,000 bond after turning himself in at the Marion County Jail on charges of conspiracy to commit theft, possession of a controlled substance for resale, conspiracy of possession of a schedule III controlled substance, fraudulent receipt of food assistance, official misconduct, theft of property, coercion of a witness, tampering with or fabricating evidence, and possession of a firearm during the commission of attempt to commit a dangerous felony, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The charges stem from a joint investigation over several months in 2016 by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Marion County Sheriff's Office, according to a TBI statement issued late Thursday.
Easterly faces arraignment in Marion County Criminal Court on June 23, jail officials said.
The charges were handed down in a Marion County grand jury indictment on evidence presented by Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's office after 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor's office stepped aside. Taylor's office has worked with the chief before on criminal cases since the Whitwell Police Department is within the 12th Judicial District's six county jurisdiction.
"I didn't think it was something we needed to be involved with," Taylor said on Friday.
Melydia Clewell, spokeswoman for Pinkston's office, said the case was originated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and case records are sealed for now.
"Right now, it's part of a pending case," Clewell said on Friday.
Meanwhile, Easterly was placed on administrative leave without pay on Thursday as required by city policy "as soon as we were advised he had been indicted," Whitwell City Manager Todd Mistrot said. MIstrot said city officials recognize that Easterly, in the eyes of the law, is innocent until proven guilty.
Sgt. Kenneth Seagraves has become interim chief of the department, Mistrot said. Seagraves will handle the day-to-day operation of the department for now, Mistrot said.
The city manager, just two months on the job, declined to talk about his reaction to the charges.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.