Ben Benton

Chattanooga

Staff Writer at Chattanooga Times Free Press

Longtime local reporter covering Southeast Tennessee for the @TimesFreePress.

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Articles

Man was ‘beaten,’ ‘tasered’ while handcuffed, lawsuit contends

1 week ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

The family of a Decherd, Tennessee, man who died in custody in May 2024 has filed a wrongful death suit against Grundy County's sheriff, alleging excessive force used during his "false and unlawful" arrest. At 5:19 a.m. May 29, 2024, a Pelham volunteer firefighter reported finding Ronnie Glenn Ledbetter, 53, unconscious in his vehicle after driving off Sherrill Road near the Grundy-Coffee county line, according to the suit filed May 27 in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga.
Cherokee riders visit ‘point of no return’ at Blythe Ferry

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

BIRCHWOOD, Tenn. -- After two days' sweating under an early-June sun, traveling from the tribe's last capital in the east at New Echota in Georgia, 18 Cherokee Indian cyclists arrived at Blythe Ferry on the eastern shore of the Tennessee River, about 30 miles north of Chattanooga in Meigs County. In 1838 and 1839, nine of 13 detachments of Cherokee men, women and children were gathered there to be ferried across the river on the forced march west.
Meigs teen charged in fatal shooting assigned attorney, new court date

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

"Judge Casey Stokes appointed attorney Sheridan Randolph to represent the juvenile defendant," District Attorney Russell Johnson said in an email. Randolph, a Cleveland, Tennessee, attorney, waived the detention hearing set for Thursday on behalf of his client, and the case was reset to Aug. 16, according to Johnson. There was no answer at Randolph's office in Cleveland on Thursday and no way to leave a phone message.
Meigs man shot dead, 15-year-old girl charged with murder

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

A juvenile has been charged with homicide after a man was found shot dead at a home in Meigs County's Georgetown community near the Hamilton County line. The teen, a 15-year-old girl, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Richard High, 44, whose body was found a little before 6 a.m. Tuesday at a home on Gunstocker Road of the Georgetown community in Meigs County, Chief Deputy Brian Malone said via email. High had sustained a single gunshot wound.
Participation in ICE agreements mixed among rural Tennessee sheriffs

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

Participation in ICE agreements mixed among rural Tennessee sheriffs 5 minutes ago by Ben Benton Brenda Peres, far right, of Nashville yells, “Shame on you!” at law enforcement officials as a bus with immigrants detained May 3, 2025, leaves a Department of Homeland Security facility in Nashville.
Chattanooga’s McCallie Tunnel traffic switches sides

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

The westbound side is now closed for work, expected to be completed by the end of August, according to the state transportation agency's weekly report. On the west side of Missionary Ridge, the traffic switch required construction of temporary crossover lanes that were completed well ahead of the first closure on the westbound side in April. Brainerd Road on the east side of the ridge is paved from sidewalk to sidewalk, making traffic switch modifications easier.
Marion detective accused of forging sex offender registry signatures in 10-count indictment

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

A chief detective with the Marion County Sheriff's Office has been charged in a 10-count indictment with forging signatures on sex offender registry forms and official misconduct, according to state investigators. Robert Hargis, 54, is facing eight counts of tampering with government records and two counts of official misconduct, according to a news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. District Attorney Courtney C.
Precipitation total of 12.02 inches breaks 1929 high mark

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

Friday's accumulation of 0.26 inches of precipitation unofficially pushed Chattanooga over the record for the month of 12 inches set 96 years ago, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall for May 2025 edged 1929 record by just two-hundredths of an inch, according to meteorologist Sam Roberts at the weather service office in Morristown, Tennessee.
Attorney General backs Grundy County in Supreme Court dispute with sand and gravel company

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a dispute over whether Grundy County has the authority to stop a private company from operating a sand mine. The state attorney general sided with the county, records show. The county's act was updated with two resolutions by 2019 to include quarries, rock crushers and gravel pits, which put the Tinsley operation on the spot when it started construction at the site on Clouse Hill Road north of Tracy City a couple of years later.
May rainfall breaks 25-year high mark, threatens historic record set in 1929

1 month ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

May rainfall breaks 25-year high mark, threatens historic record set in 1929 4 minutes ago by Ben Benton Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / The Republic Center and Liberty Tower reflect in a flooded parking lot on May 28, 2025. Rainfall totals in the Chattanooga region in May broke a 25-year high of 11.55 inches by Wednesday morning, and by Saturday, accumulations could topple the 96-year-old record of 12 inches set in 1929.