Two suspects charged with violation of Gov. Lee's executive order in Cleveland

Police patrol car with sirens off during a traffic control.
Police patrol car with sirens off during a traffic control.

Two men in Cleveland, Tennessee, have been charged Tuesday with violating Gov. Bill Lee's stay-at-home executive order after being caught behind a Target loading two stolen motorcycles onto a trailer hauled by a stolen truck.

Cleveland police were called to check on some motorcycles that were parked in an area behind the local Target at around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, a news release states.

When police arrived, they found two men, later identified as Dustin Lemons and Aaron Patterson, who appeared to be strapping down two motorcycles on a trailer pulled by a black single-cab Ford pickup truck, the news release states.

Officers checked the men for warrants and found that Lemons had an active warrant for felony theft.

All vehicles were checked through the national crime database and revealed that the Ford truck was stolen from Bradley County, according to the news release. Drug paraphernalia also was found inside a yellow sock.

Patterson and Lemons were then taken into custody.

Police later made contact with the owners of the motorcycles, who both stated they were unaware that their motorcycles had been stolen, the release states.

Patterson and Lemons were charged with three counts of motor vehicle theft, unlawful drug paraphernalia and violation of the general emergency provision for breaking the stay-at-home order.

The general emergency provision charge is a class A misdemeanor, according to state law, something that carries up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and/or fines up to $2,500.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a man was arrested Saturday for violating the order after a confrontation with officers at a birthday party.

Contact Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.

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