Substitute teacher arrested for engaging in sex act with a student under 19 years of age

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint about a substitute teacher possibly having inappropriate relations with a student. The complaint was investigated by DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and today, Stephanie Mechelle Woods (45 of Henagar) has been arrested and booked into the DeKalb County Detention Center and charged with School Employee Engaging in a…

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Man charged with rape

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Investigators were contacted by Collinsville Police Department in regard to a sexual assault report. After an investigation, Jose Elisama Francisco-Diego (21, of Gadsden) was arrested and charged with Rape 1st on December 29, 2023. Francico-Diego was booked into the DeKalb County Detention Center and later released on bond. Jose Elisama Francisco-Diego (21, of Gadsden)…

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Month of November resulted in 23 arrested on drug charges

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies, Narcotics Agents and Criminal Investigations, Officers with Powell, Fyffe, Henagar, Sylvania and Ider PD’s and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office arrested 23 on drug related charged during the month of November.  We greatly appreciate you all and the working relationships we have with all of you.  On Friday,…

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Substitute teacher arrested for sex act with student

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office received complaints about a DeKalb County substitute teacher having a sexual relationship with a student. The complaints were investigated by DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Unit.  On Thursday December 7, 2023, substitute teacher, Kristen Jade Ford (age 30) was arrested on the charge of School Employee Engaging in a Sex…

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Two DCSO Investigators complete Crisis Negotiation Course

From the Office of DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden: FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Deputy Chief Investigator Priscilla Padgett and Investigator Paul Bell completed the FBI Basic Crisis Negotiation Course during the week of September 11-15 at Jacksonville State University Training Facility.  Both, Deputy Chief Investigator Padgett and Investigator Bell, assist DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Special…

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DCSO charged 38 with drug related charges during month of March

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – During the month of March, DeKalb County Deputies, Narcotics Agents, K-9 Unit, SRT Unit, SRO’s and Investigators, along with Ider, Sylvania, Henagar, Collinsville, Crossville Police Departments, ALEA Troopers, DHR, Gadsden City Police Department, Etowah County Sheriff’s Office and Drug Enforcement Unit charged 38 with drug related charges.  We certainly want to…

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Crossville woman arrested on Child Abuse/Aggravated Abuse

03/17/2023 Crossville woman arrested on Child Abuse/Aggravated Abuse FORT PAYNE, Ala. – Jessica Lindsey Nation (36 of Crossville) was arrested on March 16, 2023 on 6 Grand Jury Indictments for Abuse of Child Torture/Willful (x3) and Aggravated Child Abuse (x3). Jessica Lindsey Nation (36 of Crossville)The arrest stems from an investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office along with the…

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39 Arrested on Drug Related Charges During Month of February

From the Office of DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden: FORT PAYNE, Ala. – DeKalb County Deputies along with K-9 Unit, Narcotics Unit. Criminal Investigations, Collinsville PD, Sylvania PD, Crossville PD and Henagar Pd seized 139.5 grams methamphetamine, 26 grams marijuana, 1 gram heroin, 3 grams fentanyl and 30 grams cocaine during the month of February. …

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DCSC Makes 40 Arrested During Weekend Saturation

From the Office of DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden: FORT PAYNE, Ala. – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office as well as, Investigations Unit, Narcotics and Criminal Interdiction Unit, conducted a saturation patrol during the weekend of February 3-5, 2023.  While focusing on traffic violations and impaired drivers, just the increased presence of Law Enforcement Officers…

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Motorcycle and guns recovered during the month of October

FORT PAYNE, Ala. -During the month of October, over 3,000 grams of methamphetamine, over 3,000 grams of marijuana were confiscated. Fentanyl, cocaine, suboxone, several firearms, drug paraphernalia, and an undisclosed amount of US Currency were also seized.  A motorcycle and one of the firearms had previously been reported stolen.  Thank you to, the DeKalb County…

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Valley Head Man Arrested on 106 Counts of Child Porn

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – The DeKalb County Investigations Division has recently been investigating a case regarding apparent child pornography.  An investigator, who is also assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an individual residing in DeKalb County had…

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Dekalb County Sheriff Investigators Speak To NACC Class

Deputy Chief Investigator Priscilla Padgett, Investigator Paul Bell and Investigator Weston Fortner spoke to Mr. Whited’s Criminal Justice Class at Northeast Alabama Community College today about Domestic Violence. October is not only Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is a victim please report it….

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Ider Woman Arrested on charges of Rape and Sexual Abuse

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – Kristen Rice Perry (30 of Ider) was booked into the DeKalb County Detention Center on Monday, October 17th, after an investigation by DeKalb County Criminal Investigations Unit along with Jackson County DHR.  Kristen Rice Perry (30 of Ider) Perry was charged with Rape 2nd and Sexual Abuse 1st.  Bond was set at $45,000.00.  DeKalb County Sheriff…

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Sonny Martin Wins Airborne Public Safety Association Scholarship

From The Dekalb County Sheriff’s Department: Congratulations to Sonny Martin on winning the Airborne Public Safety Association, Southeast Region Scholarship. Sonny will be attending Auburn University this Fall and will major in Computer Engineering. Pictured here with his Father, Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office Pilot Matt Martin. Sonny, everyone at the DCSO is so very proud…

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Two people in Henagar charged with trafficking in methamphetamine

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – A search warrant for a residence in Henagar led to two being charged with trafficking in methamphetamine.  On Friday, April 8th, a DeKalb County Interdiction Agent along with DeKalb County Investigations Unit, and Officers with Henagar and Sylvania Police Department executed a search warrant on Longview Drive in Henagar.  During the…

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Arrests Made In Drugs Being Sold Close To Fyffe High School

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – Acting on information of drugs being sold around a local school, DeKalb County Narcotics Agents along with DeKalb County Deputies and Officers with Fyffe Police Department executed a search warrant at a residence on Hammonds Road in Fyffe, finding methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.  Johnny Martin (69 of Fyffe) was charged with Unlawful Possession of…

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Sylvania Man Arrested In Hit and Run Accident That Killed Dekalb County Teenager

New Release from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) ST. CLAIR COUNTY–At approximately 5:40 a.m. Wednesday, April 6, Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division arrested Tyler Blaise Wilbanks, 22, of Sylvania.  Wilbanks was arrested in Pell City and charged with Manslaughter and a Felony Leaving the Scene of an Accident (LSA)….

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Valley Head man charged with possession of child pornography

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Investigators with the DeKalb County Criminal Investigations Unit received a tip from Internet Crimes Against Children and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through the FBI, of obscene material being downloaded to a residence on County Road 137 in Valley Head.  The DeKalb County Criminal Investigations Unit, along with…

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Higdon man arrested for the murder of his father

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — At approximately 5:30pm, on February 8th, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a possible homicide on County Road 155 in Higdon.  When DeKalb County Deputies, Investigators with the DeKalb County Criminal Investigations Unit and Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office arrived on scene, they found Joseph Xavior Register, (52…

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Lickskillet man charged with firing gun into neighbors’ vehicle

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Deputies, with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and DeKalb County Special Response Team, responded to a residence in the Lickskillet Community after reports of shots fired into an unoccupied vehicle stemming from an ongoing dispute between neighbors.  Charles Steven Henderson (53 of Fort Payne) was charged with Discharging Firearm into Unoccupied…

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Henagar man arrested for Electronic Solicitation of a Child

FORT PAYNE, Ala. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Investigation’s Unit received information of an adult male who was possibly having communications with an underage female.  After further investigation, Bobby Cole Howell (27 of Henagar) was charged with Electronic Solicitation of a Child and 2 Failure to Appear warrants.  This is an ongoing investigation, with limited information, due to the victim being a minor. Bobby…

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Girl Scout Troop 10303 Visits The Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office and Makes Huge Donation of Food

The Girl Scout Troop 10303 visited the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office recently and were able to meet some of DCSO K-9s and see the Sheriff’s Departments helicopter in action. The Girl Scout Troop also made a huge donation of food for CASA of North Sand Mountain. The Sheriff’s Department stated, “The food will be used…

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Sheriff Nick Welden Is Pleased To Announce DeKalb County Response Agencies Win Big In 2021 Grant Cycle

Back in the Spring of this year, Sheriff Welden, after months of coordination with Dekalb County Fire Departments, Rescue Squads, 911, EMA and Municipal Police Departments, initiated a meeting with these Agency Representatives and Elected Officials. During this meeting, the Sheriff outlined all of the problems with Communications, Jail Management, Records Management, Civil Process Management…

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Law Enforcement in DeKalb County Made Several Arrests During July

FORT PAYNE, Ala. During the month of July, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, Narcotics and Criminal Interdiction Unit, K-9 Units, Fort Payne Police Department, Sylvania Police Department, Collinsville Police Department, Fyffe Police Department, Valley Head Police Department, Mentone Police Department, Probation Officers and Crossville Police Department made 66 drug related arrests.  We also took 196…

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Crossville Man Charged With Attempted Murder

FORT PAYNE, Ala. On Thursday, June 17th, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, along with Crossville Police Department, Geraldine Police Department, Fyffe Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office responded to a residence on County Road 1931 in Crossville on a domestic violence call.  Upon arrival, officers found Susan Winfrey on a neighbor’s front porch with severe…

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Saturation in South End of County Leads to 17 Arrested

FORT PAYNE, Ala. On Wednesday, April 21st, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies, Investigators, Narcotics and Interdiction Unit as well as Crossville Police Department conducted a saturation patrol across the South end of the county, with Kilpatrick being our primary focus.  There were 17 total arrests made.  Three of those arrests were for outstanding warrants with…

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25 Arrested During First Two Weeks of April | WVSM Digital News

FORT PAYNE, Ala. The first two weeks of April have proved to be busy for local law enforcement. On Thursday, April 1st, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a disturbance/welfare check on County Road 138 in Henagar.  When deputies entered the residence, they noticed drug paraphernalia throughout the house.  Ethan Edward Phillips (28 of Henagar)…

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Supplements Containing Tianeptine to be Classified as a Schedule II Controlled Substance

From the Office of DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden: FORT PAYNE, Ala. As of Monday, March 15, 2021, The Alabama Department of Public Health formally classified “Tianeptine” as a Schedule II controlled substance in the State of Alabama.  As such products containing the drug “Tianeptine” will no longer be legally available to purchase over the…

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Suspects in Theft of Catalytic Converters from Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Identified

Statement from Sheriff Nick Welden: “On Friday, March 5th, we asked for the publics help on our Facebook page about a theft that happened at Pine Ridge Baptist Church. And thanks to a very observant business owner in Rainsville, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division were able to identify and obtain arrest warrants…

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Collinsville Man Arrested on Sexual Abuse and Child Pornography

FORT PAYNE, Ala. On Wednesday, February 24th, DeKalb County Investigations Unit received a call from Cherokee County DHR about a possible sex abuse of a juvenile.  An investigation was done with Joshua Todd Yarbrough (39 of Collinsville) being charged with Sexual Abuse 1st, Sexual Abuse 2nd and Possession of Child Pornography.  DeKalb County Sheriff Nick…

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Stolen Items Recovered in Marshall County

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – On Tuesday, February 9th, Investigators with DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office along with Investigators with Marshall County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence in Marshall County.  Investigators recovered numerous stolen items including an enclosed 15×7 utility trailer, a skid steer and a 2020 bobcat all from DeKalb County.  DeKalb…

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