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Volume 123 • No. 83
Johnson sentenced to life in prison MEMPHIS – A Burlison man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of hiring someone to kill his mother. On Thursday, Billy Harold Johnson, 50, was sentenced by United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson to three concurrent terms
of life in prison following his conviction by a federal jury in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on three counts of violating the murder for hire statute and eight counts of perjury, announced Lawrence J. Laurenzi, United States Attorney
for the Western District of Tennessee. The sentence follows a 10-year joint investigation by the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”), the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Section, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Attorney’s Office. Johnson was indicted in 2007 for hiring a hit man, Danny Winberry, to murder Johnson’s mother, Martha Johnson. According to the indictment and testimony at trial, in July 1999,
Billy Johnson offered Winberry $50,000 to murder Martha Johnson. On July 22, 1999, Winberry (using a key provided by the defendant) went to Martha Johnson’s home and waited inside until Ms. Johnson returned home at about 5:30 p.m.
Winberry then bludgeoned Ms. Johnson to death with an antique iron. Later that evening, Winberry set fire to Ms. Johnson’s home, in an effort to destroy the crime scene. The Tipton County SEE JOHNSON, PAGE A2
Police searching for missing man By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com COVINGTON – Deputies with the Tipton County Sheriff's Office are searching for a Stanton man missing since early October. Officials say 51-yearold Dwight Glenn Creasy, who works as a laborer for a Stanton farmer, showed up for work on Saturday, Oct. 3 and was last seen at a Mason business. He was reported missing the next day by a couple with whom he lived on CharlestonMason Road. "He hasn't had contact with his immediate family, but that isn't odd," said Deputy Chief Donna Turner. "He hadn't talked to his
mother in two months and his brother in seven months." Turner said family members reported Creasy has gone missing in the past, disappearing out-of-state for a period of time. He has been described as a person with few friends and contacts, but his roommates and family are concerned about his welfare and whereabouts. Detectives do not suspect foul play, however during the investigation into his disappearance, active warrants for forgery were filed. "After he was reported missing by his roommates, a forgery complaint was filed," Turner said. Missing for nearly
Creasy
four weeks, Turner suspects Creasy has run out of money. "He has to be doing something to survive; someone's assisting him in some way," she said. Though Creasy does not own a vehicle, detectives suspect he has left the area. Even without active warrants for his arrest, Turner and deputies SEE MISSING, PAGE A2
Strange Covington odor explained By SHERRI ONORATI sherrio@covingtonleader.com
COURTESY PHOTO
Last week a worker from Memphis Sign Erectors begins the process of removing the Huffman Buick, Pontiac and GMC sign from the Covington dealership. Huffman was one of the casualties from the GM bankruptcy filing.
Dealer finds new beginning after GM bankruptcy By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com In May, Covington auto dealer Phil Huffman found out his dealership was one of 1,100 being closed as General Motors restructured and last week the closure became official. Huffman said when the GM sign came down it was the end of an era. "It was kind of like losing a family member, it was my baby," he said. "It was tough, but you get over things like that." The GM dealership closures announcement came in mid-May and by June 1, after years of declining sales and shares, the corporation filed bankruptcy protection. With $172.8 billion in debt, GM had the fourth-largest industrial corporation bankruptcy filing in U.S.
history. What has been called a "landmark" government bailout, GM exited bankruptcy in July and the U.S. Treasury now owns more than 60 percent of its stock. Huffman said he wasn't as upset with his dealership's termination as he was with the bankruptcy filing. "By them taking bankruptcy, they were able to eliminate a lot of the laws that provided us with protection as franchises," he said. "They were able to sidetrack (Tennessee laws) and not have to live up to the things they would have normally lived up to." Instead of GM regaining control of Huffman's inventory and buying back parts and tools, Huffman has SEE HUFFMAN, PAGE A3
This past Monday morning, the phone lines started lighting up at the Covington Public Works department. Residents began calling to notify the department of a very strong natural gas odor in the northwest Covington area. Though it smelled like a natural gas leak, it was in fact, the chemical used to help detect natural gas, an odorless gas. At approximately 10 a.m., the City of Covington was in the process of cleaning up the maintenance center located at 410 E. Ripley Street when a salvaged injector pump containing captan was accidently damaged. Captan, the common name for ethanethiol or ethyl mercaptan, is used as an odorant for natural gas and liquid
propane delivery to help identify leaks. “Captan is highly concentrated,” explained Covington Public Works Director Robert Martin Simpson. “So even though less than a gallon was spilled, the odor has spread over the northwest Covington area.” The spill was quickly contained and cleanup began immediately but Simpson said until the chemical is completely diluted by water, the smell will remain. “We apologize for any inconvenience the odor may have caused but residents have been doing the right thing by calling the Public Works Department,” assured Simpson. “Anytime a resident has concerns of a possible gas leak, please call our 27/7 hotline at 476-7163. We would rather investigate all concerns to ensure the safety of the public.”
MHS band marching back to nationals By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com MUNFORD – Vying for another in a series of Bandmasters championships Saturday, this week the Munford band is also asking for help getting to nationals. Enjoying incredible success for many years and nicknamed "The Pride of South Tipton County," the Munford High School marching
band has been invited to compete on the national level once again. "It's great to be invited back," said Gary Fite, MHS assistant band director. "We're excited about going to back to nationals. We want to go and try to show this area that we can win there." In 2007, the band qualified to compete at the USSBA national competition. Band members had just three weeks to
raise $75,000 to fund the trip and, thanks to donations from the community, they raised approximately $84,000. The band placed third in its class and fifth in the entire nation. Two years later, the band once again needs financial support from the community to make the trip to the East Coast. SEE BAND, PAGE A3
Area events events Area This week’s week’s Featured This featuredChurch: church: Covington • Barretville • Millington • Collierville South Tipton • South Covington Morgage Offices: South Tipton • Millington • Arlington • Collierville
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JONES MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH Turn to to Page Turn PageA7 A7forfordetails details
10/31 5:30 -8:30 p.m. Safe Night Out Atoka ballfields Admission one can good
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