Knox County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Sharp, who helped manage the narcotics unit, is the target of scrutiny by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Knox News has learned. He has been removed from his role in narcotics and assigned to court security.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Justin Pratt declined to comment about the nature of the investigation. A TBI spokesperson confirmed the Knox County District Attorney's Office requested the investigation but did not elaborate. A spokesperson for the DA's office did not respond to questions. Sharp did not return a call and text message from Knox News.
The TBI investigation into Sharp comes on the heels of a series of indictments against 11 men connected to the sheriff’s office and the narcotics unit.
The 11 were indicted in May in one of the largest law enforcement corruption crackdowns in Tennessee history.
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Court records show Sharp has been involved in an ongoing civil court case against a handyman he is suing over work done at a home he owns, and tried unsuccessfully to serve court papers to the man while on the KCSO clock. And the lieutenant was on the scene in his official capacity when narcotics deputies arrested the man in another case on a warrant secured and delivered with surprising speed.
Knox News could not confirm whether any of those actions are connected to the TBI investigation.
Sharp brought lawsuit with another deputy against handyman
In 2025, Sharp had a connection to the arrest of a handyman he and Deputy Aaron Wyckoff were suing for $18,906 over what they said were damages to their properties. Wyckoff’s property and Sharp’s are adjacent, according to property records.
The target of the warrant was Corey Monarch.
Sharp, with help from fellow narcotics Deputy Khristian Pickett, tried unsuccessfully to serve the lawsuit multiple times to Monarch at his South Knox County property beginning in February 2024, according to court records, and used specialized public-record databases typically used by deputies to try to find Monarch. Pratt, the KCSO spokesperson, did not respond to questions about whether deputies have access to the specific tools Sharp used.
In October 2024, Knox County General Sessions Judge Chuck Cerny issued a default civil judgment against Monarch.
But then nothing happened.
KCSO acted with unusual speed to secure warrant and make arrest
Six months later, in March 2025, narcotics officers seized what Monarch said was his Kia Telluride when they arrested another man who was driving it on drug charges. Monarch wanted it back, and according to court files, he began calling the sheriff’s office repeatedly about his SUV.
The following day, beginning at 1:52 p.m., Monarch was back at it, calling the sheriff's office at one point some 15 times in a 20-minute span, “each time becoming more belligerent” and eventually becoming “a source of significant annoyance," court files say.
Deputies had enough. They got a magistrate to sign a warrant on accusations of harassment, a class A misdemeanor.
Narcotics deputies, including Sharp and Pickett, arrived with the warrant at Monarch's home within two hours. This is unusual. Warrants typically are served by the sheriff's office civil warrants division, which handles about 2,000 warrants each month.
While deputies were serving the warrant, they said they smelled marijuana and saw bullet casings. A search warrant was issued for Monarch’s home, and deputies turned up firearms and drugs. Monarch, who previously pleaded guilty in 2003 in Michigan to felony breaking and entering, was charged with several felonies. Several have since been dismissed, including charges of being a felon with possession of a firearm and evading arrest.
Sharp, in a T-shirt and blue jeans, was on scene during the arrest, according to body camera footage reviewed by Knox News. At one point, Sharp and a handcuffed Monarch began yelling back and forth at each other.
“You don’t do anything wrong, do you? You can’t accept responsibility for anything,” Sharp told him.
The next day, Sharp filed court documents for a bank levy on Monarch’s accounts for the damages to his property.
In follow-up court filings, Monarch told the judge he had no money. In August 2025, his wages began to be garnished at $300 a month.
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: TBI investigating KCSO lieutenant who has tangled history with handyman | Exclusive
