A Blount County man whose flight from police ended with the flattening of tires on his vehicle pleaded guilty last Tuesday in Cumberland County Criminal Court to possession of more than 300 grams of meth.
Chris Anthony Goodman, 51, of Philadelphia, TN, was facing a 15- to 60-year sentence on the Class A felony. He pleaded guilty about six weeks after his arrest. Court costs and fine were waived and remaining charges were dropped.
The charge is the result of a high-speed pursuit that began at the Lucky Stop market on Plateau Road when Cumberland County Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Richardson attempted to stop a Honda Civic for erratic driving.
The driver — identified as Goodman — raced through the parking lot and reentered I-40, traveling east at speeds of up to 115 mph. The pursuit ended when Crossville Police Ptl. Jeremy Beard activated tire-disabling strips with spikes near the 317 mile marker, flattening front tries and bringing the Honda to a stop.
The resulting search of the vehicle yielded marijuana, Xanax, meth and heroin.
Goodman and his passenger, Davon Eugene Florey, 35, of Sweetwater, were jailed on drug charges. The charges against Florey are still pending in General Sessions Court.
In other cases on June 17 docket, the following took place:
•Rebecca Leann Ladd, 46, charged with possession of .5 grams of meth or more with intent, possession of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony and simple possession of meth, pleaded guilty to simple possession of meth and received an 11-month, 29-day jail sentence to sere at 75% with credit for around 10 days already served. Fine and court costs are waived. The charge stems from a June 17, 2022 arrest by CPD’s Det. Koby Wilson and Lt. John Karlsven.
Ladd also pleaded guilty to an information charging simple possession of marijuana and received an 11-month, 29-day sentence to be served consecutively with the above sentence for two years in jail at 75%.The weapons charge was dropped.
•Clifford L. Churchill Jr., 57, pleaded guilty by information to a charge of possession of more than .5 grams of meth for sale and received an eight-year sentence to be served as a Range 1 offender and concurrent with an eight-year sentence in Rhea County.
The charge is the result of a Sept. 10, 2024, traffic stop by CPD’s Sptl. Matthew Charlock in which meth was found in a breath mint tin. The Rhea County sentence is the result of a May 2023 home search resulting in three arrests, including Churchill’s.
•Johnny William Norris, 50, facing a host of charges relating to to the sex offender registry law, pleaded guilty to a single count of violation of the sex offender registry and received a one-year sentence to serve. Fine and court costs were waived and cases pending in General Sessions Court are to be dismissed. Norris is being given credit for 40 days already served.
The charge stems from an April 29 arrest after a Tennessee Board of Pardon and Parole officer conducted a home check and found Norris spending the night in a home where two minor children were present, against rules of the registry.
•Paxton Michael Smith, 53, pleaded guilty by information to a charge of attempted introducing of contraband into a penal institution and received a two-year sentence to serve as a Range 1 offender. Smith was given credit for 35 days already served in jail with court costs waived. Charges pending in General Sessions Court were dropped.
On May 13, Smith was being booked at the Justice Center on an unrelated charge when corrections officers found meth in a boot he was wearing.