Sheriff's Office Teams Up With Gallatin, TN Police To Recover Stolen Trailer On Alexander Creek Road

Edmonson Voice Staff Report
In an unorthodox move, a Gallatin, TN police officer was sworn in as an Edmonson County special deputy in order to take custody of an Edmonson County man accused of stealing a trailer in Gallatin last week.

The Edmonson County Sheriff's office said they were contacted by the Gallatin Police Department on Friday, July 1, 2016 who said they had video of a man with a Bee Spring address stealing a utility trailer from Swim World Pools, a pool and supply store located on W. Eastland Ave in Gallatin.

They requested the Sheriff's Office to help locate the man with outstanding warrants, Ricky House, (52) whose last known address was on Oklahoma Road, but that location turned out to be a dead end.

Another possible local address was discovered through an investigation led by Deputy Jordan Jones, and the suspect was located at a residence on Little Henry Meredith Road in Wingfield where he was arrested on the outstanding warrant in Tennessee.

Deputy Jones said at first, the suspect denied being in Tennessee, but further investigation led to the recovery of the stolen trailer which had been sold to a man on South Alexander Creek Road. 

Officials said House began to complain with chest pains which required the sheriff's office to transport him to Caverna Hospital. Caverna officials were not equipped to handle heart problems there, so they requested that the suspect be transferred to Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green via Edmonson EMS. 

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Officials said as long as the suspect complained of chest pains, he could not be incarcerated nor extradited by the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office to TN on the warrant. The Gallatin Police Department, although willing, was unable to travel to Kentucky to take custody of the suspect because TN officers have no jurisdiction in KY. Furthermore, the sheriff's office said they would be required to stay with the man until he was discharged from the hospital.

Being short on manpower, the sheriff's office was unable to stay around the clock with the man, so Sheriff Shane Doyle was able to contact a District Judge who gave Doyle permission to swear in a Gallatin PD officer as a special Edmonson County Deputy in order to take custody of the KY suspect.

Having full Kentucky police powers, the officer met Sheriff's deputies at Greenview Hospital. The Gallatin officer was able to take custody of the suspect at the hospital and the Sheriff's Office was relieved of it's duties, and local deputies were able to return to their normal shifts in Edmonson County.

After a full medical examination, the hospital eventually determined House had no health issues and was discharged where he was transported to the Sumner County Jail.

"You never know how things will turn out when you're looking for a suspect," said Sheriff Shane Doyle. "Working with the Gallatin PD was great and we were glad to be able to help them locate their suspect. We had to get a little creative with the case, but we found the suspect and recovered the stolen property. Deputy Jones did an outstanding job in this investigation, and I'm not surprised. I've said it over and over, we're proud of our deputies and the work they do everyday."