Clarksville Crime Stoppers offering up to $5K for tips in cold cases

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)- On November 15, the Clarksville Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Board voted unanimously to increase the cash reward amount for all Clarksville Montgomery County cold case homicides from up to $1,000 to up to $5,000 effective December 1, 2021.

“If you have information, and you could provide it, and it could solve the case, wouldn’t that be great. Wouldn’t you want somebody to do that if it was your family member that was murdered? You would, I would,” said Deanna McLaughlin, Chairman of the Clarksville Crime Stoppers.

The cash reward applies to Clarksville-Montgomery County unsolved criminal homicide cases that are over three years old.

The Crime Stoppers concept is based on the principle that someone — other than the criminal — has
information that can solve or prevent a crime. Crime Stoppers enlists the help of local concerned citizens and then pays for that help.

Everyone in the Clarksville-Montgomery County community is asked to get involved in fighting crime by providing confidential leads (tips) and information to assist law enforcement in bringing criminals to justice.

“We’re hoping it will encourage people who have that one piece of information that law enforcement is missing to make a good case prosecutable,” explained McLaughlin.

DARIUS WALTON
DORRIS CLINARD
FELICIA CARSON
JAMES BROWN
JAMES STACKER
JERRY COPE
RAYQUAN HUDSON
SCOTT LEE DUPREE
STEVEN EVERETT DAVIES
TAVON WILSON
VICTORIA OCHOA
VINCENT PARDUE

One of the cases eligible for the increased reward is the homicide case of Darius Walton. Walton was standing outside of a Clarksville apartment when he was shot 10 times in 2016. In a May interview with News 2, Walton’s mother explained how she is still hoping her son’s killer will be brought to justice.

“It’s really hard, I know some people probably think it’s going on five years. It doesn’t get any easier, it hasn’t gotten any easier for me,” said Lillian Santiago.

Crime Stoppers offers anonymity because some citizens are reluctant to get involved for certain reasons.
Some of those reasons include:

● Fear of reprisal
● Not wanting to be named

“One of the best feelings is calling a mother or father into the office and they’ve been waiting for answers and you can tell them that there’s been a resolution to their family member’s case,” Detective Keenan Carlton, with the Clarksville Police Department said. “One thousand to five thousand is a large increase so people that have that little bit of information, it’s the incentive that they need.”

The police receive a report from Crime Stoppers outlining the information provided by the anonymous
tipster. The police then conduct an investigation into the information provided. The tip information may
be part of an already ongoing police investigation or create a new investigation. A Crime Stoppers tip is
not considered evidence in itself.

“It’s about the family getting justice, and the investigator getting closure. I couldn’t imagine if I started a case and couldn’t finish it before I retired. So, the investigators get in deep with the family members and they want to get it solved just as much as the families do,” said McLaughlin.

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Tips can be submitted by calling the Clarksville Police Department directly at (931) 648-0656 ext. 5046. You can also submit tips anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at (931) 645-TIPS. Information leading to an arrest can also lead to a cash reward.

Below are the current cases that qualify for the up to $5,000 cash reward: