Are You Keeping Up with Lawrence County, Tennessee, Political Scandal?

There are scandals, and then there are scandalous scandals. A scandal of the latter variety is now playing out in Lawrence County, Tennessee. 

First, we have Sheriff Jimmy Brown. Obviously all law enforcement officers have their detractors. Some of these critics have accused Brown of wrong doing while in office, and the high sheriff has been indicted for malfeasance.

Second, we have the district attorney Brent Cooper. Cooper, who led in obtaining an indictment against Brown, asked him to resign upon being arrested. Brown who's running for re-election refused. Let the people speak and all that.

Now let's depart this tawdry situation for an even more salacious crime. A man named Alex Shoemake is, or at least was, a sportswriter for a small Lawreceburg newspaper. Due to his reporting credentials, he had access to various elected officials and apparently attempted to buddy up to several of them, including Brown and Cooper. 

Alex Shoemake

Last November, D.A. Cooper became aware that Shoemake was being investigated out of state for a serious crime and ceased all contact with him. Then Shoemake was accused of rape and kidnapping in Lawrenceburg. According to all reports, it's pretty much a slam dunk case against the sportswriter, but Shoemake is being given special privileges in the county jail...a jail run by Jimmy Brown. Shoemake is considered a trusty and doesn't even sleep in a cell.

How has Shoemake achieved such a great relationship with Sheriff Brown? Among other things, the sportswriter presented Brown with copies of e-mails he had shared with Cooper. In this correspondence, Cooper told Shoemake that he wanted Brown out of office and another candidate in. Cooper doesn't deny this, but says the notes were written on a personal level, not a professional one. He has recused himself from prosecuting Brown. 

While we have the feeling there is to be another shoe dropped at some point, we're not as much concerned with the prosecution of Sheriff Jimmy Brown as we are the case against Shoemake. Was Alex Shoemake's other alleged crime, not yet make public, in Alabama? Has Brent Cooper's comments concerning Shoemake's personality and physical attributes possibly caused problems for anyone who attempts to prosecute the rape case against Shoemake? 

And you think Russellville has problems?