CPD Chief: Officer wrong to write carton of Newports were inside inmate's 'anal cavity'

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office says an arrest warrant filed by a Clarksville Police Department officer claiming an inmate had a carton of cigarettes, a broken glass pipe and a tire gauge "in his anal cavity" was wrong and that none of the items were found inside him as the officer wrote.

MCSO Spokeswoman Sandra Brandon said the arrest warrant, written and signed by CPD Officer Shandie Owenby, was incorrect and that the items were found inside the inmate's clothing.

"Based on our search, when he was booked into our jail, the contraband items were found on Mr. Littleton and not inside him," she said.

The arrest warrant, which was filed with the Montgomery County General Sessions Court, said Jason Dondi Littleton, 35, was arrested early Thursday morning behind a Mapco on Tiny Town Road.

According to the arrest warrant, Clarksville Police were called to the store by an employee who said Littleton had been had been inside the gas station for approximately four hours and that he saw Littleton take a carton of Newports and leave the gas station.

Officers arrived and found Littleton behind the store next to dumpsters, and, after running his name through a computer system, found that authorities had received a report of Littleton trespassing at the Mapco on Jan. 18, according to police reports.

Officers searched Littleton at the scene but did not find any cigarettes. He was charged with criminal trespassing and taken to the Montgomery County Jail.

According to an arrest warrant, "While being searched at the jail, deputies found the carton of Newports inside Mr. Littleton's anal cavity. Deputies also found a broken glass pipe with burnt residue, and a tire pressure gauge with burnt ends also inside Mr. Littleton's anal cavity."

But according to a MCSO report, during a search, deputies found a carton of cigarettes in his pants under his groin area, a pack of cigarettes in a pant leg and a crack pipe that had fallen from his buttocks area. It does not mention a tire gauge but says the items that were recovered were given to Officer Owenby.

After a story based on the arrest warrant was published online, Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley said he had spoken to the officer who wrote the affidavit for the arrest warrant and confirmed that she was mistaken about where the items were found.

"Her saying they were inside his anal cavity, that was incorrect," Ansley said Friday afternoon. "She miswrote this. She is a new officer and is being corrected as we speak. It's our mistake and I own it."

He said she was not involved in the search and that when the jail staff talked to her about the concealed items she may have misunderstood.

She read the arrest warrant to the suspect and had it approved by a judicial commissioner but Ansley said the responsibility for the mistake still lies with the Clarksville Police Department.

"This is our responsibility, not the jail's," he said. "Instead of the anal cavity, she should have used another word."

Littleton, who gave a Grenspoint Drive address, was charged with contraband in a penal institution. Bond for trespassing was set at $5,000 and another $20,000 bond was added for the contraband charge.

Reach Reporter Stephanie Ingersoll at singersoll@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf

