Seven arrests made during sex offender compliance check

March 28– City, county, state and federal officers spent two days last week checking up on Hardin County’s 48 registered sex offenders.

Operation "Tennessee River Watch," as Sheriff Sammy Davidson termed it, put members of the Savannah Police Department, Hardin County Sheriff’s Department, and U.S. Marshals together as they performed compliance checks in the county.

"What we are looking for is to make sure that these offenders are obeying the terms of their registry," said U.S. Marshal Investigator Don Hankerson.

Five teams of four officers went from house to house and knocked on the door of every offender and asked them standardized questions regarding their compliance.

"What we want to know is if they are living where they're supposed to be, who’s living with them, are there children around, are they properly registered," said U.S. Deputy Marshal Paul Melson. "As long as they are in compliance, there is no issue."

Hardin County is the tenth county in West Tennessee to have U.S. Marshals come in and assist with a sweep of offenders.

"Having the U.S. Marshals assist us on this operation sends the message that we mean business to our registered offenders," said Davidson.

Seven arrests were made during the sweep, authorities said.

Ricky Dwayne Mayhone, 41, 270 Stout Street; Thomas C. Havers, 43, 23 Wayson Road, Counce; James Marvin Malone, 39, Wayne Road; and Kenneth Thornton, 40, 165 Bellwood Road, were charged with violation of the sex offender registry law.

Arrested on drug charges were Jeffery Alan Murphy, 20, 240 Stout Street, for marijuana possession and casual exchange, and Kenneth Ray Nunley, 45, 285 Bellis Drive, for simple possession of marijuana.

Michael Sherron, 32, 216 Holmes Street, Adamsville, was arrested for criminal impersonation.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation allows for searches of the Tennessee sex offender registry at www.tbi.state.tn.us/sex_ofender_reg/sex_ofender_reg.shtml.