EDITOR’S NOTE: The following information was taken from the intake reports generated from the Sevier County Jail. All are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Names
SEVIERVILLE â A Kentucky man, charged with attempted murder after he struck employees at Gatlinburgâs Park Vista hotel, will face those charges in circuit court after a grand jury advanced the case against him.
Javier Gonzalez-Cruz, 21, of Louisville, Kentucky, has been in the Sevier County Jail ever since the April incident. His bond is set at $125,000.
On April 15, personnel at the hotel received notice that someone was making fraudulent charges at their facility.
When they approached Gonzalez-Cruz, he and a woman with him fled the hotel, according to police reports on the incident. Two employees pursued them into the parking lot, and Gonzalez-Cruzâs car struck them as he fled. One of the employees was flown to UT Medical Center, while the other was transported to LeConte Medical Center.
Pictured are SPD Chief Joseph Manning, Maj. Sam Hinson and
Sevierville City Administrator Russell Treadway.
SEVIERVILLE â The Sevierville Police Department announced the promotion of Captain Sam Hinson to deputy chief.
As deputy chief, Maj. Hinson will be second in command of the Police Department and will oversee the day to day operations of both the Operations and Support Bureaus.
Maj. Hinson has over 26 years of law enforcement experience and has been a supervisor in several units and divisions since 2004. He commanded both the Criminal Investigations Division and SWAT before being promoted to Captain. As captain, he took command of the Operations Bureau where he commanded Patrol, Criminal Investigations, SWAT, and the Crash Reconstruction team.
SEVIERVILLE â A Cleveland woman accused of shooting her boyfriend on I-40 and trying to make his death look like an accident is now facing a charge of first-degree murder after a Sevier County grand jury enhanced the charge.
Brittany Faith Swafford was already charged with second-degree murder in relation to the Aug. 12 murder of Samuel Lane.
Sevierville Police officers found Laneâs body in his car on I-40, where it had rolled off the road and had been reported as a possible single car accident. Investigators determined Lane had been shot.
Swafford later told investigators a gun in the car âwent offâ and struck Lane while they were stopped at the interstate. She fled with the help of two other people in another car.