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- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 6 Aug 2001.
Everett Troy Shults, age 36, of Cosby, passed away Monday, August 6, 2001.
He was of the Baptist faith.
He was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Walter McCarter and Arthur Shults and grandmother, Myrtle Shults.
He is survived by his parents, Everett and Judy Shults, of Cosby; grandparents, Doris and Eula James, of Memphis; grandmother, Joan Shults, of Sevierville; brother, Roger Shults ad his friend, Anna Owenby, of Cosby; brothers and sisters-in-law, Boyd and Ellen Shults, of Cosby, and Phillip and Carrie Shults, of Cosby; brother, Kevin Shults, of Sevierville; sister, Patricia Shults, of Sevierville; sister, Mary Shults and friend, Jeff Boehl, of Sevierville; nieces and nephews, Kimberly Shults, of Sevierville, Taylor and Shayna Ball, of Cosby, Rusty Shults, of Sevierville, Nicholas Boehl, of Sevierville, and Felix Shults, of Cosby.
The funeral will be held 2 p.m. Friday at Manes Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Andy Ball officiating with burial in the Shults Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Manes Funeral Home.
Manes Funeral Home is in charge.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 2 Sep 2001.
Judge sends murder case to grand jury
By:PENNY BANDY, Staff Writer September 02, 2001
Some stolen jewelry led to the murder of Everett "Troy" Shults, according to testimony at the two suspects' preliminary hearing Friday.
Charged are Michael Dewayne Ball, 25, of Mathis Branch Road in Cosby and Dallas Wayne Shults, 28, of Ball Mountain Way in Gatlinburg. They are being held on a $1 million bond each.
After hearing proof, General Sessions Judge Dwight Stokes sent the case to the grand jury.
Sevier County Sheriff's Detective Jeff McCarter said he learned during the course of the investigation that Ball's girlfriend, Jennifer L. Jenkins, had some jewelry taken from her home in Cocke County.
Ball had taken Troy Shults, 36, to Jenkins's home the night before Shults died, McCarter later said.
Deputies found Shults's body Aug. 7 off the side of the road on Shady Gap Way in the Rocky Flats community. They also found six spent cartridges on the scene. Troy Shults had gunshot wounds to his upper chest and hand, McCarter testified.
He said eyewitnesses who saw Dallas Shults and Ball leave the scene led to detectives' search for the men. They found Shults at his mother's house.
At first, Shults told McCarter he and Ball picked up Troy Shults and went to Shady Gap Way.
When Dallas Shults got out of the truck, he said he heard some loud talk, then several shots, according to McCarter.
Then Ball pointed the gun at Dallas Shults and told him not to say anything, McCarter testified.
Shults later changed his story, saying he and Ball went to Jenkins's house and Ball became enraged after learning of the stolen jewelry.
"(Ball) was going to confront Everett Troy Shults," McCarter said.
"Dallas Shults had a baseball bat in his hand during the trip," the detective added.
Troy Shults was in the passenger seat and Dallas Shults was in the middle. Ball was driving.
Dallas Shults said when they stopped, Ball shot Troy Shults, who fell into the truck, McCarter said.
Authorities found blood in the truck's floorboard, passenger's seat and the passenger's side door.
Investigators found the baseball bat at the scene, but are unable to determine if it was used. It has been sent with other evidence to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab.
Troy Shults was shot with a 10 mm Glock, Dallas Shults told McCarter.
Ball said he threw the weapon in a pond, but it hasn't been recovered.
Ball first told McCarter he wasn't at the scene and knew nothing about the murder.
He then told basically the same story Dallas Shults told, McCarter said.
Ball and Troy Shults argued on the way to the secluded scene. Once there, Troy Shults kicked open the truck door.
Authorities have said Troy Shults and Dallas Shults are not related. Ball was a cousin to Troy Shults and is related to Dallas Shults.
Ball said he shot Troy Shults because the larger man was approaching him and he was afraid for his life.
Troy Shults was apparently not armed. Investigators found no weapon on him at the scene, McCarter said.
On cross examination from Public Defender Ed Miller, who represents Ball, McCarter said Troy Shults's body had been moved from where they believe he was shot.
"Did you confront Mr. Ball with information that he supposedly bragged about killing a man?" Miller asked McCarter.
"Yes. That information came from Jennifer Jenkins," McCarter responded.
He agreed with Miller that Ball said Troy Shults went crazy when confronted about the stolen jewelry.
"Did he tell you he killed this man to protect himself?" Miller asked.
"That's what he said," McCarter answered.
Sevierville attorney James Greenlee, who represents Dallas Shults, called Shults's grandfather, Clyde Ball, to the stand. He said his grandson came to his house the night of the killing.
"I asked him what was wrong," Clyde Ball said. "He said Mike would kill him if he said anything."
Dallas Shults told his grandfather Mike Ball was in "big trouble" and Clyde Ball urged him to phone the sheriff's department.
"Then, he left," Clyde Ball said. Greenlee and Miller asked for bond reductions for their clients. The motions were denied.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 1 Sep 2001.
Two murder suspects bound over to Grand Jury
By: Gary Butler
Dallas Wayne Shults and Mike DeWayne Ball were bound over to the Grand Jury on Friday on charges of the first degree murder of Everett Troy Shults on August 6 in the Rocky Flats Community of Sevier County, according to a press release issued by District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr.
Schmutzer’s release stated that both are being held in the Sevier County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond. The Grand Jury is scheduled to meet on October 1.
Shults, 36, Rocky Flats Road, was shot to death near his home in the Shady Gap area, off Rocky Flats Road, according to Sevier County Sheriff Bruce Montgomery.
The victim was found lying in a ditch approximately 10 feet from the Cocke County line and he had been shot three times with a 10-millimeter handgun, according to Montgomery.
According to Montgomery, the motive appears to have been a dispute concerning some items of personal property, but he did not reveal the nature of these items.
The warrant against Ball alleges that he made a statement about the shooting, and the warrant against Shults alleges that he aided and abetted Ball during the shooting, according to authorities.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 4 Oct 2001.
Two cousins were indicted on first-degree murder charges by a Sevier County grand jury Monday.
Michael Dewayne Ball, 25, of Mathis Branch Road in Cosby and Dallas Wayne Shults, 28, of Ball Mountain Way in Gatlinburg are accused of killing Everett "Troy" Shults, 36, on Aug. 6.
Troy Shults's body was found Aug. 7 at the side of the road on Shady Oaks Way in the Rocky Flats community. He had been shot in the upper chest, shoulder and hand.
Authorities have not yet recovered the 10 mm gun used to kill Shults.
According to testimony at the preliminary hearing, Ball was angry at Troy Shults because he believed Shults took jewelry from Ball's girlfriend.
Dallas Shults' court-appointed attorney, James Greenlee, has said his client was more of an "aider and abetter," but not a murderer.
Greenlee claims his client phoned 911 the night of the killing, but Shults choked and gave the dispatcher few details.
Shults's grandfather, Clyde Ball, has testified Shults came to his house the night of the killing. He said his grandson was afraid but wouldn't tell him what happened.
"I asked him what was wrong," Clyde Ball said at the preliminary hearing. "He said Mike would kill him if he said anything."
Authorities found a baseball bat at the scene. They believe Dallas Shults carried the bat on the way to the Rocky Flats area. There was no evidence Troy Shults was struck with the bat, according to previous testimony.
Circuit Court Judge Rex Henry Ogle reduced Shults's bond recently from $1 million to $500,000.
The judge denied a bond reduction for Ball recently. He is still jailed under a $1 million bond.
Ball's attorney, Public Defender Ed Miller, said his client shot Troy Shults in self-defense.
Miller said the unarmed Shults, who was a larger man than Ball, approached him in a threatening manner.
Ball shot three warning shots in the air before shooting Troy Shults.
Assistant District Attorney General Steven R. Hawkins has said Ball hid his bloody clothes, his truck and the murder weapon. A substantial amount of blood was also found inside the truck.
Troy Shults was a cousin to Ball. Dallas Shults is a cousin to Ball, but is not related to Troy Shults.
Shults and Ball will be in court Monday for an arraignment. A plea date will be set at that time.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 18 Oct 2002.
A man who said he was totally surprised when a companion pulled out a gun and shot a third man to death must serve six years in Sevier County Jail for his part in the crime.
Sevier County Circuit Judge Dick Vance decided Wednesday that Dallas Wayne Shults, 28, of Ball Mountain Way, must serve his sentence in jail rather than on probation.
Shults was originally charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Everett "Troy" Shults (no relation) in August 2001 in a remote area of Rocky Flats. He eventually pleaded guilty to a much reduced charge of facilitating second-degree murder, which carries a three- to six-year sentence and maximum $10,000 fine.
Dallas Shults's cousin, Michael Dewayne Ball, 26, of Mathis Branch Road, is serving a life sentence for the crime. By all accounts, he was the trigger man and the instigator of the murder.
Shults, tall, thin and clean-cut, wearing a white shirt and tie, testified Wednesday that he did not have a weapon, that he was surprised when Ball shot the victim, and that he was terrified afterward.
He called the sheriff's department to say there had been a shooting in the Rocky Flats area, but was too afraid to leave his name, the name of the victim or the shooter.
"I feel terrible. I could probably have done more to help," he admitted. He said he had not had much to do with Ball, his cousin, before that night. He and Ball went out to test drive Ball's truck, and stopped at the home of Jennifer Jenkins, Ball's girlfriend.
Ball had been drinking "moonshine, I believe," he said. Ball talked to Jenkins, came back out to his truck, reached for a gun and shot it in the air, Shults said.
Shults testified he had no idea who Ball was mad at, but later said Jenkins told Ball that Troy Shults had stolen some jewelry. Jenkins handed Ball a baseball bat, which he put in the truck floorboard, and the two men drove off, according to testimony.
They went to Troy Shults' home and got him into the truck on a pretext. Ball drove to Rocky Flats with Dallas Shults sitting next to him holding the baseball bat and Troy Shults on the other side.
Once arrived at Shady Gap Way, Dallas Shults remained in the truck when the other two got out. Very shortly after that, saying "Die, (expletive), die," Ball shot Troy Shults three times, Dallas Shults testified.
"I couldn't believe it," he said. He climbed out of the truck and the baseball bat fell to the ground, he testified.
Ball pointed the gun at Dallas Shults and told him twice, "If you tell anybody, I'll kill you too," Shults testified. "I just stood there. I couldn't move," he said.
Later, after Ball had dropped him off, he was scared, throwing up and crying. On his grandfather's advice, he called the sheriff's department. However, he left no details. He admitted when detectives interrogated him three times over the next few days that he did not tell the truth. "I was just so scared," he said.
Shults's lawyer, Jim Greenlee, called Shults's sister, Lavonda Holliday, to testify in his defense. "Wayne, as you can see, is a little bit on the wimpy side" and easily scared, but he has never hurt anyone, she said.
But Assistant District Attorney Steve Hawkins made much of the presence of the baseball bat and of Shults's reluctance to tell the truth. "We had a victim who was literally bleeding to death" but Shults did not give enough information for deputies to locate him, Hawkins said.
He argued that Shults was still trying to shift the blame to others by saying Jenkins' accusation started the incident. "We still don't believe he's telling the truth about it even now," Hawkins said.
Greenlee argued that Shults was under duress, and "you are not dealing with a street-smart man ... Dallas Wayne was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Vance ruled that six years, minus three months Shults has already served, are to be served in Sevier County Jail. "It's obvious" the baseball bat was meant as a weapon for Shults, since Ball was already armed with a gun, Vance said.
The sentence must be served "in order to avoid depreciating this terrible tragedy," Vance said. He ordered Shults to pay $3,000 in restitution to Troy Shults's family, who had to bear the cost of the funeral.
Troy Shults's brother Roger testified that his father died in July, his life shortened by his son's death. He died "of nerves and a heart attack. He was afraid to go to sleep. He was afraid to go anywhere much" after the murder.
"It hurt the family. It broke two families up ... It was hard for me to have to identify my brother," he said.
"They can see their son once a week (at the jail) ... We can't never see our brother again," Roger Shults said.
Troy Shults' family said after the sentencing they are glad Dallas Shults will serve his time in jail, though they have second thoughts about agreeing to his plea bargain in the first place.
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