Tuesday, July 21, 2026
The Rutherford Roundup
In Today’s Episode:
- The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upholds Gregory Chiante Lyons’ murder conviction and effective life-plus-12-year sentence in the 2020 killing of MTSU employee Gervarius Malone.
- Judges reject Lyons’ challenges involving the circumstantial evidence used at trial and his age at the time of the crime.
- The appeals court also denies David C. Sands’ attempt to withdraw a 2014 cocaine-related guilty plea, ruling that his petition was filed nearly 11 years too late.
- More than 75,000 Tennesseans cast ballots during the opening weekend of early voting for state, federal, and local races.
- Federal health officials continue investigating a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak potentially connected to shredded iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.
- Murfreesboro seeks public input on proposed federal funding for housing, homelessness services, and neighborhood improvements.
- Murfreesboro Police highlight the use of surveillance video, license plate readers, real-time crime center data, and regional partnerships in solving smash-and-grab burglaries involving stolen firearms.
- The department is also testing rapid DNA technology that could reduce evidence-processing times in burglary and vehicle break-in investigations.
