Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler is too sick from advanced pancreatic cancer to answer questions under oath in the vast corruption case centered in the Knox County Sheriff's Office, according to a newly filed court document.
Spangler’s oncologist, Daniel Mark Ibach, said the sheriff’s mental capacity is sharp but said he “is physically incapable of preparing for and participating in the rigor of question-and-answer testimony in a courtroom or via a deposition, either in person or on video," according to the court filing.
Instead, Spangler provided the court with his testimony in a signed affidavit.
In the motion filed Aug. 24, the attorney for one of the corruption case defendants – former Assistant Chief David Amburn – says Spangler could not
be scheduled for an in-person or video deposition, “according to his attorney and his treating oncologist.”
Spangler, Ibach said, is at the “end stages” of his cancer battle and would “more likely than not” die within a few weeks unless an experimental drug reverses the prognosis.
The affidavit Spangler provided details what he knows about the case.
Instead, Spangler provided an affidavit – a signed statement – detailing what he knows about the case. Amburn's attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, is seeking to have the affidavit entered into the court record so it can be used as part of the defense in the corruption cases.
Johnson was ordered by the court to schedule the deposition.
“The State’s pre-charge delay in bringing these allegations, both through the original Presentment and the Superseding Presentment, has created a situation where the testimony of Sheriff Tom Spangler will be lost to the jury at trial absent admission of his affidavit,” Johnson said in his motion.
How we got here
The indictments stem from yearslong federal and state investigations into the department's troubled narcotics unit. A federal investigation resulted in the August conviction of Henderson, the unit's former leader, on a single federal count of conspiracy to commit program fraud.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation picked up the work, and its investigation led to state charges of conspiracy to commit theft of property over $250,000; theft of property over $250,000; and theft of services over $60,000 for all 11 men. Each one entered a not guilty plea.
All the charges are felonies and all have potential serious prison sentences:
- Conspiracy to commit theft of property over $250,000: 8-12 years
- Theft of property over $250,000: 15-25 years
- Theft of services over $60,000: 8-12 years
The indicted men are:
- Assistant Chief Deputy David Amburn, who oversaw the sheriff’s office narcotics unit
- Curtis Nathan Cole, a former narcotics unit detective
- Capt. James Hammond
- David Henderson, a retired KCSO assistant chief deputy, who pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit federal program fraud in August 2025. His sentencing hearing has been rescheduled several times and is now scheduled for this fall.
- John "Hoppy" Hopkins, a retired KCSO captain
- Sgt. Timothy Isaacs
- Jimmy "J.J." Jones, a former Knox County sheriff
- Michael Ray Kidd, a civilian. Kidd's brother is Ronnie Kidd, a former KCSO fleet manager who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of official misconduct in October 2020 and was sentenced to two years of probation.
- Lt. Franklin "Rocky" Lowery
- Lake Lowry, a former KCSO sergeant
- Capt. Aaron Yarnell, who supervised the agency's technology division.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email: tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com; X: @tyler_whetstone; Signal: twhetstone141924.39
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tom Spangler too sick to give deposition in KCSO corruption case | Exclusive
