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Jean Alice Whitby, 31, of McKenzie was bound over to the May term of the Grand Jury following testimony at her preliminary hearing in General Sessions Court last Thursday on the charge of aggravated arson. After hearing testimony from Kevin Isley, special agent for the state of Tennessee Bomb and Arson Section, and Hazel Rainey, a fellow employee of Dollar General, and summations from Attorney General Steve Jackson and defense attorney Ben Dempsey, Judge Larry Logan stated his belief that evidence presented suggested Whitby's involvement and she was to be bound over.

Whitby and Rainey both came to work at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, February 12, according to testimony from Rainey, had a productive afternoon and closed the store at 8:00 p.m. Rainey further noted that after Whitby locked the door, Rainey began cleaning up around the cash register area in the showroom, which included mopping and bagging all trash. Whitby volunteered to take the trash, contained in a plastic trash bag, to the storeroom area where it was usually placed by the back door.

Rainey stated that Whitby returned to the front of the showroom area and entered the office to count the money from the cash register, one of her usual jobs at closing. In just minutes Whitby asked Rainey if she smelled anything. Rainey stated she did not, but volunteered to look around. After checking the bathrooms, Rainey moved to the back of the store to the storeroom area, and with Whitby close behind, saw debris coming from under the storeroom door. Rainey started to open the door but was warned against that option by Whitby. "Jean told me not to open the door," stated Rainey. "She said 'we've got to get out of here.'"

Rainey testified, "I said to get the money and she said 'I'm not worried about it." The two then left the store and the Fire Department arrived shortly afterward.

Isley, who testified first, gave testimony under direct and cross examination about the evidence he found of a "V pattern" in the storeroom area. This pattern indicated the fire's point of origin and there had been no such pattern anywhere else in the store, including the showroom, office, or bathroom areas. Photos taken by Isley and the McKenzie Fire Department were introduced. Five of the photos taken by Isley and indicating the V pattern were dated by Logan and introduced into evidence.

Under direction examination, Isley stated that he and special agents Ron Powers and Mike Woodard had taken statements from various persons involved in the store's management. Whitby's ultimate arrest followed a polygraph test by Phillip Gentry, a polygraph expert, conducted at McKenzie Police Department. Dempsey elicited testimony that Whitby was the only person to whom a polygraph was given. Isley stated he was unaware of the procedure used in the administration of the polygraph or questions asked Whitby. His only knowledge of that test came from what he had read in Gentry's statement on the test.

Direct testimony also indicated that the McKenzie Fire Department received the call on the fire at 8:09 p.m. Isley testified Whitby had access to the storeroom area which was kept locked during the day. Later testimony elicited from Rainey disputed this statement. Rainey stated that the door was not always locked, but always open and that she had access throughout the day if she wished.

Dempsey elicited from Isley that the fire could have started as early as 7:30 and could have been started by any of the customers in the store from that time until the building was locked. Isley agreed with this hypothesis if the room was accessible to everyone in the building. However, Isley stated that no accelerant had been used to start the fire. While he admitted that no matches were found at the burn point, he noted that lighters were sold at the business and available for starting the type of fire he investigated.

Isley stated that Christmas paper, toilet paper and DURA logs had been at the point of origin and the fire had quickly accelerated throughout the store. Had an accelerant been used, the fire would have spread even more quickly and resulted in a different burn pattern, he noted. Isley testified, under cross examination by Dempsey, that the fire definitely started in the pile of stored Christmas paper, toilet paper and DURA Logs and not outside that wall. He also testified that nothing he found indicated the fire was anything other than arson, adding that previous electrical problems could not be blamed for the fire as there was no burn pattern in the area of the electrical breaker box.

Dempsey noted the store had encountered not only electrical problems, which included the replacement of a breaker, but a previous fire in the men's bathroom and had been the target of a bomb threat. Isley stated there was no evidence one way or the other to indicate that previous problems could be directed to the ultimate arson which destroyed the store.

When questioned about a possible motive by Whitby, Isley stated he believed it was "acts against the victim in retaliation." He said she had received derogatory statements from District Manager Tony Dill on her performance which led to irritation on her part and that after counting receipts from the day of the fire, $200 had been found missing. Isley stated that the investigation also revealed that money had been missing at other times, when Whitby was on duty, but had been covered up by a previous manager.

Dempsey elicited testimony that the store had no sprinkler system to put out a fire and that the owner of the building had not been questioned about a possible motive for insurance reasons. Isley admitted that no one, including Whitby, had confessed to the crime and there were no witnesses who saw her or anyone set the fire.

Rainey's testimony, which followed Isley's, was perhaps the most damaging, leading to Whitby's being bound over to the Grand Jury. Her testimony about Whitby's having taken the trash to the rear of the building after 8:00 p.m. and having been the first to "smell something" were compelling arguments for the state.

In summation, Dempsey admitted that while there was a suggestion of arson, there was no proof. He reminded the judge that the state had initially shown the storeroom to be locked during the day, a statement countered by Rainey as untrue. Dempsey also noted that "Miss Hazel" was very candid in her testimony and noted there were several persons in the store prior to closing.

Jackson then countered that Whitby had been the one to take the trash to the back room after 8:00 p.m., was the first to notice any odor connected to the fire and certainly there was probable cause to bind her over.

After hearing all the testimony given by the two witnesses and final summations, Logan stated he had two options, Whitby or Rainey. He stated since Whitby had apparently been the last one in the storeroom, he was binding her over to the May term of the Grand Jury on the charge of aggravated arson.

Whitby remains free on a $50,000 bond which is conditional on her residing at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Smith. She must phone the Carroll County Sheriff's Department each Monday at 9:00 a.m. and must have no contact with witnesses in the case.

A McKenzie man was killed late Monday evening when a car, from which he was removing parts, fell on him in Hollow Rock.

Cloyas Webb, 66, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:28 a.m. Tuesday by Steve Cantrell, Carroll County medical examiner designate.

According to Cantrell, Webb had gone to the Hollow Rock location to remove parts from a car, on property owned by Ted and Belinda Craig. Craig reportedly had several cars located on a field road off Bruceton-Vale Road. Webb, who built antique cars as a hobby, often went to the location to remove parts.

Webb's wife, Sue, became concerned after trying to call his cell phone for several hours without success. At 11 p.m., she called the Craigs and they agreed to go to the location to determine if he was there.

The couple discovered the victim under a car that had been lifted by a jack, which apparently slipped and allowed the vehicle to fall, fatally injuring him.

Using another jack, they raised the car off him. Authorities were summoned to the scene, along with Baptist Hospital Emergency Medical Service.

Responding to the scene were Sgt. Lee Bates and Eric Sawyers of Carroll County Sheriff's Department, Bruceton Police Investigator Randy Kelly and Hollow Rock Officer Adam Meggs.

Cantrell was called to the scene at 11:56 p.m.

In a Banner feature story, dated November 3, 2004, Webb said he didn't have time to hunt or fish because he spends all his spare time with his second love, restoring old cars and other vehicles. He retired from BellSouth in 1999.

His sideline was building cars, sometimes from what others might see as an unredeemable pile of rusted out junk. During his retirement, he worked most of his days on his restorations. "It's a full day every day; I don't have time to go to the coffee shop," said Webb.

One of his latest masterpeices was the recreation of a Chevrolet 1954 concept car, known as the Waldorf Nomad. Webb's Nomad was featured in a nine-page spread of the October 2004 edition of Super Rod Magazine. In 1983, he converted a travel trailer to a mobile home. That creation was featured in Trailer Life magazine. Twenty years ago, Rod Action magazine featured his 1934 Dodge street rod. Southern Rodder magazine in January 2001 touted his 1940 black Mercury convertible and in 2002 Rod and Custom magazine showed his '40 red Mercury coupe.

A jokester, Webb recently attached the tail section of a small plane to the outside of his State Route 125 shop. It appears the plane crashed into the building.

See the full McKenzie Banner feature on the Web at www.mckenziebanner.com/2004/2004_features/feature_
CloyasWebb_Nov3_04.htm.