A Weakley County jury found a former sheriff's deputy guilty of first-degree felony murder last week, after listening to two days of testimony and considering the facts of the case during deliberations on Tuesday and Wednesday.
     Claudell Watkins Carpenter, 29, of Gleason, who was a deputy with the Weakley County Sheriff's Department at the time of the shooting, was charged with murdering Joseph Neal Martin Jr., 35, of Sharon, a man described as a male friend of Carpenter's estranged wife, Rene Leyhue Carpenter.
     The incident in question took place shortly after midnight on Wednesday, June 16, 2004. At that time, Martin received a total of 13 gunshot wounds to random areas of his body while visiting Mrs. Carpenter at her Greenfield apartment. The murder weapon was a .40 caliber Glock service pistol, which was issued to Carpenter by the Weakley County Sheriff's Department.
     While the prosecution charged that the crime was premeditated murder and deserved a first-degree murder conviction, the defense argued that the shooting was done in the heat of passion and should be considered to be manslaughter.
     Although the jury found that the defendant was not guilty of premeditated first-degree murder, they did find him guilty of first-degree felony murder, which occurred in the perpetration of and while intending to commit a burglary. He was also found guilty of especially aggravated burglary, and felony aggravated assault. It should be noted that a fifth charge of evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor, was not considered by the jury, because Carpenter had already pled guilty to this charge. He was given 11 months and 29 days for this offense; but since he has been incarcerated longer than this amount of time, the sentence amounts to time served.
     Circuit Court Judge William Acree has set February 9, 2006 as the date he will return with a ruling on a motion filed by Carpenter's defense attorney, Public Defender Joe Atnip, calling for a "judgment of acquittal." At that time, Judge Acree will make a ruling on the defense's motion. The legal action that follows will depend on which way the judge rules. If Judge Acree rules against this motion, a sentencing hearing will be set for Carpenter at a later date.
     Unless Carpenter's murder conviction is overturned in appeals, he faces a sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 51 years, with good behavior. If this scenario were to play out, Carpenter would be 80 years old upon his release.
     In the end, there are no winners in this case, which has shattered two families. The murder victim, Joe Martin, leaves behind his widow and three children, who will have to go through life without the support and guidance of their biological father. Because of his rash actions, the defendant, Claudell Carpenter, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, and will likewise be unable to be there for his two children.

     Members of the Weakley County School Board unanimously approved the second and final reading of two changes to School Board policy, as well as assorted budget related resolutions and transfers, during Thursday night's meeting at Martin Elementary School.

School Policy Changes

     One of the changes in school policy approved by the board involves state and federal aid eligibility determination. This policy provides written documentation for the current practice of the Weakley County School Department. The Tennessee Board of Education requires each school board to have a procedure policy concerning the determination of state and federal aid eligibility.

     The second school policy change approved by the board alters the rules to allow Weakley County schools to utilize an extra volunteer coach. This measure allows two athletic volunteer coaches per teams instead of only one. The policy change eliminates a reference to TSSAA policy, in order to show that the county's junior high schools (with the exception of Martin Middle School) are not currently members of the TSSAA, and are not bound by this organization's rules and regulations.

Resolutions & Transfers

     The school board also approved two budget resolutions and several budget transfers.

     A resolution calling for accepting $28, 781 in grant money made possible under the Safe Schools Act was approved. The local match for the grant amounts to $6,013. This resolution also accepts an $11,354 Special Education Grant.

     Another resolution which, according to Director of Weakley County Schools Richard Barber, involves no new money, but calls for shifting $907,000 in funds around from one line item to another, was also approved.

     A federal projects budget transfer shifts $600 out of the "travel" line item and moves it into a line item for the "secretary's" salary. It also moves $500 out of "other equipment" into "other supplies and materials."

(Read the rest of this story in this week's print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)