A Hamilton County judge Wednesday dismissed a case against a former political aide who was accused of drunkenly beating his adult son with a baseball bat and sneaking marijuana into the local jail.
Walter Davis Lundy, 70, was charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of contraband in a penal institution.
Within earshot of a reporter in the courtroom, Lundy privately discussed with outside prosecutor Shari Tayloe his chronic use of cannabidiol products, commonly known as CBD, dating back to 2017. Lundy tested positive for THC in February and March in court-mandated screenings as part of his ongoing case.
More recently, Lundy passed a drug screen, so his case was dismissed, according to General Sessions Judge Larry Ables.
“There was a little bump in the road,” Ables said to Lundy on Wednesday.
Lundy did not have an attorney present for the hearing, and Tayloe represented the state.
There was a need for an outside prosecutor due to Lundy’s former role as a policy adviser to Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp. District Attorney Coty Wamp — sister of the mayor — handed off Lundy’s case due to potential conflict of interest, she said by text message.
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The case against Lundy stemmed from an April 12, 2024, incident at his Ooltewah home.
Lundy’s son accused Lundy of assaulting him with a wooden baseball bat while intoxicated. His son alleged the bat broke due to the beating and his arm was red and had bruising that appeared to be fresh, police said in an affidavit.
While removing items from his pockets at the Hamilton County Jail, Lundy allegedly pulled out a small bag of marijuana he concealed.
In September, it was agreed that Lundy’s case would be dismissed on certain conditions, according to the court clerk’s office. He was ordered to show six months of good behavior, take three anger management classes and take two drug screens (one in September and one before dismissal). A no-contact order with his son was also lifted.
His good behavior dismissal was meant to happen in April, but he did not show up to court and failed the two drug screenings, according to Ables.
On April 10, Ables planned to take Lundy into custody, he said. A scare over a suspicious object near the courthouse worked in his favor.
“I was going to take you into custody today because you didn’t come back to court,” Ables said at the April hearing. “I’m going to tell you this, there’s a situation developing downtown which is requiring us to close the courthouse, and that works to your advantage.”
Now that Lundy has remained clean for an extended period of time, he can make it the rest of his life without marijuana products, Ables said Wednesday, adding its use remains illegal in Tennessee.
PREVIOUS CASE
It’s not the first time Lundy has had a criminal case against him dismissed.
In October 2022, an officer allegedly found 23 grams of marijuana, an open bottle of red wine and a glass of it in his cupholder during a traffic stop in Collegedale.
He told the officer he only took a few sips of wine while driving, according to court papers.
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Lundy was accused of driving under the influence, possessing marijuana, having an open container while driving and refusing a chemical test during the traffic stop.
In the midst of his criminal case, he resigned from his role as an aide to Weston Wamp. Coty Wamp passed off that case, too.
“When he was first arrested on a DUI, I recused my office and ever since then it’s been out of my hands,” she said by text.
Cara Sapp, who was the outside assistant district attorney assigned to the DUI case, chose to drop prosecution, and all charges against Lundy were dismissed.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press previously requested his case file from the Collegedale Police Department and the Collegedale General Sessions Court through an open records request, but the agencies said there were no records associated with Lundy.
Clerk Tom Turk said at the time that it was possible Lundy’s case was expunged, in which case, the city would have been legally required to clear all of his files.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.
