The City of Smithville essentially went on lockdown last Thursday evening after a triple homicide investigation in Warren County led to a manhunt and shots fired on Smithville streets. The ensuing chase for the murder suspect had local, state and federal officials searching Smithville neighborhoods on the ground and in the air.

The incident in Smithville began in the late afternoon on Thursday, November 21, when the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department was contacted by Warren County Sheriff Jackie Matheny, Jr., about a lead concerning suspects in a murder case being in the area of Smithville.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at approximately 8:50 a.m., officers with the Warren County Sheriff's Office responded to 900 Merry Oaks Road where a deceased male had been located inside a residence. Officials soon discovered two other bodies in an outbuilding on an adjacent property being used as a residence.   The deceased were identified as the homeowner, William Piechocinski, Dana Ramsden, and Otis Hawks, II.  The bodies were said to have already been in a decomposition stage at the time of the discovery.

According to Sheriff Matheny, “Leads were quickly developed and the investigation led us to locations in Nashville and Memphis. Evidence of theft of property, that belonged to at least one of the deceased individuals, was found in both Nashville and Memphis. The identification of the suspects was confirmed through the evidence found in these cities.”

“On Thursday, November 21, investigators received information that the suspects may be in DeKalb County, Tennessee,” Matheny explained.

According to DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray, “Sheriff Matheny and his detectives, along with an officer from Homeland Security, came to DeKalb County because they had a lead on one of the suspects in a triple homicide this week in Warren County. We assisted them by going to a local store and pulling video footage, and found out who the subject was (40-year-old Jessica Root) and where the subject was staying. At around 3:45 pm we went over there.”

Sheriff Ray said Warren County had a warrant for Root’s arrest, and she was placed in custody. “We found out that her boyfriend (28-year-old Caleb Diez Brookins), the other suspect in the triple murder, was on his way back from Nashville coming to Bell Street Apartments. We set up waiting on him to come to the apartments.”

“We had a vehicle description and he (Brookins) and another woman (21-year-old Hannah McKenzi Rose of Hickory Hollow Terrace in Antioch, TN) pulled into the parking lot. We thought that is who it was. It was hard to get a clear vision, but it was a white female and a black male in the car. They went to the end of Bell Street apartments and turned around. The sheriff’s departments from DeKalb and Warren Counties had people set up there.”

Sheriff Ray continued, “The female driving the car (Rose) rammed a DeKalb Sheriff’s Department truck operated by Chief Deputy Brian Williams, with passenger Detective Stephen Barrett, who were not hurt, but she hit a Homeland Security officer injuring his leg. They were trying to get away and ran up into a yard at a residence on Bell Street.”

It was at this time that Warren County District Attorney Chris Stanford, who was accompanying law enforcement, opened fire at the Rose vehicle, but failed to hit the vehicle or the suspects. Brookins reportedly exited the vehicle and took off running on foot. DeKalb EMS responded to Bell Street, where the Homeland Security officer was transported to the hospital with a leg injury.

It was then that the manhunt was underway, leading to several reverse-911 calls being made, warning area residents to lock their doors and to be on the lookout for a black male, wearing blue jeans and a gray shirt, presumed armed and dangerous and wanted for multiple shootings.

Smithville Police, the McMinnville Police Department and members of their SWAT Team, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol soon joined in the manhunt, along with a Warren County drone, and THP helicopters. The search had authorities running down possible sightings from Green Meadow Drive, Braswell Lane, and points in between. Brookins would eventually be caught by the TBI a couple of hours later in the housing projects on Wade Street.

Brookins and Root have been charged with three (3) counts of Criminal Homicide and they are being held without bond in the Warren County Jail.  Rose has been charged by DeKalb with Felony Evading Arrest and Aggravated Assault for hitting the agent with Homeland Security. She is under a $125,000 bond and is due in court December 5.

Brookins is a known felon with various charges dating back to 2014. He has been arrested previously for weapons violations, aggravated robbery, criminal homicide, second degree murder and probation violations.

Later that evening, 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant C. Dunaway released a statement regarding an investigation into the shots fired by DA Standford during the Bell Street incident.

“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began to investigate an incident that occurred on Bell Street in Smithville, DeKalb County, Tennessee,” Dunaway said. “The incident involved a report that the District Attorney for Warren County, Tennessee, Chris Stanford, fired shots during the attempted apprehension of a man named Caleb Brookins on outstanding warrants out of Warren County. He (Brookins) was later taken into custody on those warrants and transported to Warren County. No individual was shot in the incident.”

Smithville Mayor Josh Miller also released a statement through social media stating, “Unbelievable that Warren County DA Chris Standford is running around shooting at people. If he’s going to do such a thing, he needs to be much more confident in his shooting skills. Mr. Standford should leave police work to the trained professionals.”

Authorities have not released a possible motive for the killings on Merry Oaks Road or details as to how they were killed or what weapons were used.