Local law enforcement agencies kept busy over weekend, rounding up alleged shooting suspects, burglars and a man who police say used phony bank cards to withdraw money from an ATM.
First, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a home in the 7500 block of Hixson Pike on a reported shooting at 7:35 p.m. on June 1 and found Timothy Poole with a single gunshot wound in the upper right side of his chest and back, according to court documents.
Deputies detained James Jones, 71, on the scene and found a .25-caliber Colt semi-automatic pistol.
Poole said he was at the home with his friend, Sharon Shropshire, watching television when he looked out and saw someone walking across the property toward the home. Poole said he went out and confronted the man, Jones, who said he wanted to speak with Shropshire.
Shropshire refused, Poole told Jones she was unavailable, and Poole and Jones sat at a table outside and started talking. Jones then pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Poole. Poole said he tried to push away Jones' arm and was shot as he tried to run away. Poole then flagged down a car to call the police and returned to the scene before authorities arrived.
Jones faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The next day, Chattanooga police nabbed two burglary suspects. Officers responded to a call about shots fired in the 8300 block of Old Lee Highway at 3:15 a.m. and were told by dispatchers to be on the lookout for a grey SUV headed in the direction of the Walmart in Ooltewah, according to court documents.
Officers saw and stopped the suspect vehicle, noting it had a broken rear window. Both the driver, Jmar Welch, 26, and Jacob Hill, 18, were escorted out of the car. Police noted they both had muddy clothes and a strong smell of marijuana was coming from the car. A search of the vehicle yielded a Ruger .40-caliber pistol from under the passenger seat.
The victim said the suspects entered his business by removing a window air conditioning unit and shot at him and his family as he tried to follow the car to get its plate number.
Police noted the suspects' vehicle had a bullet hole on the right side of the car with a graze down the side. Security footage from the business confirmed their identity and officers found a large amount of money in the suspects' pants.
Welch and Hill have been charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, burglary of a business, unlawful carrying or possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit a felony.
Finally, in another incident, police spotted George Ortmeier, 39, making large withdrawals from an ATM in the 5500 block of Brainerd Road, according to court documents. He was found to be in possession of several "magnetic stripe cards" as well as a large amount of cash.
An agent checked 17 of the cards and found the numbers on the front did not match the numbers encoded in the magnetic strips and that they had been re-encoded with other bank account information. The cards also had stickers with pin numbers affixed to the front.
In total, Ortmeier was found in possession of 102 re-encoded credit cards that contained debit card information from stolen debit card numbers. He was taken into custody for questioning by fraud investigators as well as the United States Secret Service.
Ortmeier said he was given the cards to make withdrawals from the bank. He has been charged with seventeen counts of criminal simulation.
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.