Five more people, including another top leader in the sheriff's office, could be indicted in the expansive corruption case centered in the Knox County Sheriff's Office, Knox News has discovered.
Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen has recused her office twice from the case, one of the largest law enforcement corruption crackdowns in Tennessee history. As part of this second recusal, Allen shared relevant information with special prosecutor Stephen Crump. In an Aug. 4 order, Allen identifies five new people and gives consent to Crump to handle “specific criminal proceedings, including grand jury proceedings.”
Knox News is not naming the people, four of whom are current or former sheriff's office employees, because they have not been charged
with a crime. One occupies a high-ranking oversight role in the agency.
The order is not a list of charges and it doesn't say charges are forthcoming. But grand juries issue criminal indictments and the order specifically authorizes Crump to handle grand jury proceedings.
A spokesperson for the state District Attorneys General Conference, which Crump leads, declined to answer questions about the active case. The spokesperson for the Knox County District Attorney's office did not respond to a text message or emailed questions.
The filing was not signed by Senior Judge Don R. Ash, who is overseeing the case since Knox County's criminal court judges all recused themselves. The order is signed by a judge, but the signature is not legible, though it is not Ash's.
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.
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: Corruption case against the Knox County Sheriff's Office may grow | Exclusive
