Busy day for the Smyrna Police Department

The Smyrna Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in locating a suspect in a stabbing. At approx. 10:25pm on August 11, 2012, we received a *911 call to 207 Moore Ave, Lot #19, Smyrna, in reference to a stabbing. It was determined the victim, Bryan Effler had been severely stabbed to his arm and through his right rib cage. He was lifeflighted to Vanderbilt Medical Center and underwent emergency surgery. He is currently in stable but serious condition. Through the course of the investigation, it was determined Mr. Eli Ian Collier, (50 YOA) was the one who allegedly stabbed him. Mr. Collier and his girlfriend, Sherry Jenkins, unknown white female, fled in a red Ford Focus, unknown license plate. All attempts to locate Mr. Collier have met with negative results. Mr. Collier has outstanding warrants and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with any information on Mr. Collier or the armed robbery suspect that was emailed moments ago are encouraged to call the Smyrna Police Department at 615-459-6644 extension 5146. Thank you.

From the Smyrna Police Department

At approximately 10:55pm on August 11th, 2012, an unknown white male subject entered the Quick & Easy Tobacco Shop, 1206 Hazelwood Dr., Smyrna, and robbed the clerk with a knife. The suspect is described as a heavy set white male. He was wearing blue jean shorts, a black long sleeve hoodie, sunglasses and had what appeared to be a black bandanna pulled over his face. As he was running away, he removed the hoodie and sunglasses. He appeared to have a short crew cut like haircut. He ran behind the business and behind a fence in the back of the business. It appeared he got into an unknown vehicle and left the scene. He was able to get away with two bags of cash.

Police press release

This is from the Smyrna Police Department.

At approximately 3:45 pm today, Smyrna Police responded to an ambulance assist at 9584 Old Nashville Highway in Smyrna, in reference to two small children who may have died after being left inside a vehicle. Upon arrival, officers discovered two children, ages 2 and 3, 1 male and 1 female, laying in the driveway beside a parked vehicle and the children were deceased. An investigation was initiated and ultimately, the children's mother, Samantha Harper, was arrested and charged with two counts of Especially Aggravated Child Abuse. Harper's photo is attached to this email and she is currently being held at the Rutherford County Detention Center. Other charges may be pending in the future. We are unable to release any more information regarding the case at this time.

I'm not going to put her picture here for several reasons, but the main one is compassion. Comments on Facebook on the pages of the news channels in Nashville have been good and bad, but some are bordering on evil. While the deaths are horrible, the whole story is not known and I'm not comfortable putting her face out for more hatred. I'm going to not follow this much more as after the first flurry of articles it becomes a game of rewording what has been said before over and over. Unless further press releases follow with new material, I'm calling an end for "This is Smyrna" and this horrible day.

Provided the .....what!

I received in the mail today my new voter registration card and was looking over it and noticed something. A sentence that made no sense right above where you sign your name. It read as thus.

"The above is entitled to vote on and after the issuance of this card, provided the"

That's it. Provided the...WHAT! Are we supposed to guess? I could not find my old one, but a call to a relative that still had theirs got me this.

"The above is entitled to vote on and after the issuance of this card, provided the registration has not become void"

Oops! This article said “131,000 registered voters will be getting a new card,” ...I hope they don't have to reprint them.

Smyrna police need your help

WE NEED YOUR HELP TRYING TO IDENTIFY THESE SUSPECTS On July 26th, someone broke into a vehicle at the Sharp Springs Park in Smyrna. The vehicle owner's purse, along with a laptop computer, was taken from the vehicle. Immediately after, the suspects went to multiple locations in Smyrna and fraudulently used the victim's credit card. I have some photos of the suspects as well as their vehicle, possibly a late-model Ford Explorer with a large white cargo carrier on the roof.

We are hoping that someone may recognize one of the suspects or their vehicle. If anyone does recognize either of these people or the vehicle, we encourage them to contact Detective Anderson of the Smyrna Police Department at (615) 267 - 5433.

Fish Fry- make plans

The Smyrna Rotary club has their Wings of Freedom Fish Fry scheduled and you are invited...if you buy a ticket.

Last year the Wings of Freedom Fish Fry raised over $60,000 and we honored local heroes and veterans that helped make our region great. Since 2003 we have raised over $400,000. As our community grows, so have the needs of many local non-profit organizations. The Wings of Freedom Fish Fry helps meet the needs of these local non-profit organizations. This year our event will be held on September 8th and we are honoring women in the military. With your support we look forward to making 2012 our biggest Fish Fry yet!