Here are some of the high-profile local public safety stories in chronological order from 2020:
April 12: Adam Joseph Decker, 34, told investigators that a 9 mm weapon he was holding went off accidentally while he and Kristi Breland were cooking dinner on Easter Sunday. Decker told 911 dispatchers he had accidentally shot his live-in girlfriend at 107 M Coffey Lane, located in southern Washington County just below the Nolichucky River near Erwin. Deputies arrived to find Breland, 30, dead in the kitchen and Decker in the dining room. The couple had friends over earlier in the day for some target shooting. After the friends left, the couple went back into their residence and got into an alcohol-fueled argument, authorities said. Decker told police he decided to go to bed and when he picked up his pistol, it went off.
A 19-month-old girl found dead after her parents called 911 because she was unresponsive weighed only 12 pounds when she died in February, according to court documents.
Samiah Craterâs parents â Sapora D. Walton, 20, and Jeremiah T. Crater, 22, both of 293 Austin Springs Road â were arrested Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse/neglect.
Samiah had been in Department of Childrenâs Services custody between August 2018 and October 2019. When she was returned to her parents, records showed Samiah âwas in good health,â Johnson City Police Investigator Joe Jaynes wrote in the affidavits.
She was returned to her parentsâ custody Oct. 27, 2019, and investigators said there was no proof that she received any medical care after that.