Criminal Defendants Charged with Crimes of Violence to be Heard in Circuit Court

DRESDEN (September 29) — Several defendants indicted by the September term of the Weakley County Grand Jury are ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court on assorted criminal charges.

Some of the more serious cases involve beatings, sexual offenses, kidnapping, serious injuries involving the illegal possession and use of weapons, and other acts of violence.

James Robert Murphy, 21, of Dresden is ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court November 23 for three charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Murphy is out of jail on a $2,500 bond. Murphy was arrested October 11, 2019, as a result of an investigation involving the search of the defendant’s residence, which resulted in the discovery of a computer that apparently had a video of a prepubescent female engaging in patently-offensive behavior.

Lyle Thomas Tucker, 33, of Dresden, is charged with Aggravated Assault after allegedly beating another man in the head with a metal object during an altercation February 24, 2020. Tucker is ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court November 9. His bond remains set at $10,000.

Patrick O’Neal Jennings, 42, of Greenfield, faces charges of Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault, Domestic Assault, Simple Possession and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, in connection with an altercation June 7, 2020. Jennings is ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court October 12, and his bond set at $5,000.

Charles William Davis, 34, of Gleason, is scheduled to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court October 26, 2020, on a charge of Rape of a Child. Davis was arrested June 29, 2020. The defendant’s bond is set at $250,000. According to a court affidavit, a 12-year-old female told Sheriff’s Investigator Marty Plunk a sexual encounter took place involving Davis when she was five years old.

Two Dresden men arrested in connection with a July 5, 2020 shooting that sent a 17-year-old female to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound are ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court on assault and weapons charges. Cody W. Brown, 19, of Dresden, is ordered held without bond, while awaiting his October 12 court date. Brown is charged with Aggravated Assault (four counts), Reckless Endangerment with a Deadly Weapon and Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon. Bobby Ellis Dickens, 41, of Dresden, faces charges of Aggravated Assault and Reckless Endangerment with a Deadly Weapon. Dickens’ bond is set at $1,000 and his next court date is October 12. The gunshot victim was airlifted to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis for evaluation and treatment and was released from the hospital the next day. The incident was sparked by a verbal altercation, which escalated to shots being fired between the two armed defendants, as Dickens drove by Brown’s house. The case was investigated by Dresden Police.

Nicky Avent, Jr., 21, of Martin, who allegedly shot a Martin woman July 13, 2020, is ordered to appear in Weakley County Circuit Court October 12. His bond is set at $10,000. Avent was arrested without incident and charged with Aggravated Assault and Possession of Schedule II. The female victim was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, where she was treated for a gunshot wound.