John Coffelt, Editor

This Story has been updated with more current information   

A public record request for documents that were central in accusations against a sitting county commissioner was denied Wednesday, June 25 by the Coffee County public records custodian after being cleared for public inspection by the District Attorney.

The Times made the request for a box of documents that , according to a petition filed June 20, Commissioner Joe Mike Hodge was accused of conspiring with a former Administrative Assistant in the Mayor’s office to obtain. The Times also requested a copy of an audio recording referred to by Sheriff Chad Partin of the two “conspiring” to remove the documents undetected.

On Monday, Attorney General Craig Northcott told the Times that no crime had been committed. Further, he said the documents in the box were available for public inspection.

“They are not part of a criminal investigation and are available for public review now” Northcott said in an email.

The audio was not discussed at that time. The Times also requested any documentation of who recorded that audio.

Both requests were denied on the grounds that the documents are evidence in an ongoing investigation.

The requests are similar to a petition filed in Coffee County Chancery Court requesting the documents. That petition brought to light a closed-door executive session of the County Commission on May 13 when Hodge was allegedly accused of attempting to take the documents.

Sheriff Chad Partin has said that he will begin a process of taking documents in “the box” before a judge to have it ruled as no longer being evidence.  

The contents of the box would then need to be sorted for any confidential information before it can be released as public request.  

The audio request, he said, could be problematic due to ownership issues.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.