Mason Edwards

Mason Edwards is a criminal justice reporter with a focus on the courts at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, where he started as an intern in August 2024 before being hired full-time to cover breaking news in June 2025. Originally from Dayton, Tennessee, Mason is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he earned a degree in Communication with minors in Criminal Justice and Rhetoric & Professional Writing.

Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.

Hamilton County judge fighting brain tumor with surgery, chemotherapy

by Mason Edwards ·May 20, 2026

A Hamilton County judge is receiving surgical treatment for a brain tumor Wednesday, according to a Facebook post he made.

Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / General Sessions Judge Gary Starnes speaks during Veterans Treatment Court at the Courts Building. Starnes announced on social media May 19, 2026, that he is fighting a brain tumor.

Chattanooga police chaplain’s domestic aggravated assault charge dismissed

by Mason Edwards ·May 20, 2026

The domestic assault charge against the volunteer Chattanooga police chaplain accused of threatening his wife with a knife was dismissed in court Wednesday.

Staff photo by Mason Edwards / Gregory Collins, left, sits in the gallery awaiting his case to be called by a Hamilton County judge.

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Prosecutors considering appeal to Gilmer County indictment dismissal

by Mason Edwards ·May 16, 2026

The district attorney in the 2014 Gilmer County sexual assault case involving three former Calhoun High School students is considering an appeal after a judge dismissed the indictments Monday.

Staff file photo / Damon Johnson leaves the courtroom after Judge Albert Collier upheld his indictment during a pre-trial hearing at the Gilmer County Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 in Ellijay, Ga.

Hamilton County deputy killed in crash remembered at Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony

by Mason Edwards ·May 15, 2026

A little over a month after a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy died from a vehicle accident, his family sat in the front row Friday for the 2026 Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Law enforcement officers conduct the presentation of colors during the annual Hamilton County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.

‘You can’t unsee that’: Convicted child rapist from Signal Mountain to serve two life sentences

by Mason Edwards ·May 14, 2026

A Signal Mountain paralegal accused of sexually abusing three minors hundreds of times will serve two life sentences without possibility of parole plus 60 years in prison consecutively, a Hamilton County judge ruled.

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Stephen Rapaport enters the courtroom for his sentencing hearing in the Courts Building.

Ethics board determining final discipline for Chattanooga lawyer convicted of sex crimes case

by Mason Edwards ·May 12, 2026

An ethics board is working to determine the final discipline for a Chattanooga attorney sentenced to more than 28 years in prison for a sex crimes case, officials announced.

Staff file photo by Mason Edwards / The Supreme Court of Tennessee is pictured. The court's Board of Professional Responsibility announced it was working to determine the final discipline for lawyer Patrick Bryant Hawley.

Indictments dismissed in Calhoun, Georgia, post-prom alleged rape case from 2014

by Mason Edwards ·May 12, 2026

Defendants denied right to speedy trial, judge rules

Staff file photo / In 2014, Avery Johnson, Fields Chapman and Andrew Haynes, from left, converse during a break in Gilmer County Superior Court proceedings.

Man indicted in Chattanooga on illegal reentry, failure to register as sex offender charges

by Mason Edwards ·May 11, 2026

A federal grand jury has indicted a Mexican man in Chattanooga, alleging he illegally reentered the country and failed to register as a sex offender, court records said.

Staff file photo / The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and United States Courthouse and Miller Park are seen on March 5, 2023. A federal grand jury indicted a Mexican man on illegal reentry, failure to register as sex offender charges.

ICE arrests Guatemalan man convicted after Lookout Valley underage sex sting

by Mason Edwards ·May 8, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a Guatemalan man in Chattanooga, officials said, following an underage sex sting and the man's subsequent conviction.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Leyvis Edi Velasquez-Perez, 28.

Teenage witness in homicide case arrested after vehicle pursuit, report says

by Mason Edwards ·May 7, 2026

A teenage witness in the Jackson Avenue fatal shooting case was arrested after attempting to flee Hamilton County sheriff's deputies in a stolen vehicle, according to an arrest report.