Bradley County Sheriff’s attorney reacts to dropped charges

BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – Sheriff Eric Watson’s attorney Jim Logan described the emotional moment when he told the sheriff the charges he was facing would be dismissed.

“He’s a big man, and he’s been through a lot and he actually, water came up in his eyes and tears fell down his cheeks and we got up and hugged,” Watson’s attorney Jim Logan said.

In July, Sheriff Watson was indicted on charges accusing him of making alterations to vehicle titles and failing to pay certain fees and taxes on the vehicles he bought in Florida and brought to Tennessee.

“The records which I think Mister Dunn may have said that he paid these before any charges were made,” Logan said.

According to a press release by special prosecutor James Dunn, his office on Wednesday was able to verify documents brought to him by the sheriff’s counsel in December that the sheriff paid the taxes and fees in 2016.

Those documents were not presented to the Bradley County Grand Jury.

“Jimmy Dunn is a man of integrity. He has to rely on the investigations that are done and the information that is presented to him. All of these documents are public records which were available to anyone. You could go to the County Clerk’s Office and get copies of these documents in December of 2016 or in January of 2017 for other vehicles outside some of these,” Logan said.

Moving forward, Logan said he’s confident Eric Watson will be a candidate for re-election for Sheriff.

The county primary is in May.