13 Apply To Be Interim Rutherford County Sheriff

MURFREESBORO, TN — A baker's dozens of applicants will be considered to serve as interim Rutherford County Sheriff. Of the 21 people who picked up applications, 13 were turned in to the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission by the deadline. The POST Commission will determine the applicants' eligibility.

The county commission is scheduled to interview the eligible applicants at a 6 p.m. meeting January 10 in the second-floor courtroom of the county courthouse, with an aim to appoint the interim by vote of the commission January 12.

Deputy Chief Keith Lowery, who has led the office since the retirement of Chief Deputy Randy Garrett December 17, has applied, as has former Deputy Chief Virgil Gammon, who settled a whistleblower lawsuit with the county for $340,000 earlier this year. Gammon alleged he was fired after providing information to investigators regarding now-suspended Sheriff Robert Arnold and his entanglements with JailCigs. While Gammon says he intends to run for sheriff in the 2018 election, Lowery said he simply wants the interim job.

Two men who finished behind Arnold in the 2014 election — Bill Kennedy, now a Lebanon police officer, and TBI agent Dale Armour — have also applied, as has Tommy Thompson, a former deputy fired by Arnold.

The applicants are:

• Virgil Gammon
• Keith Lowery
• Matthew Harvey
• Max Thomas
• Dale Armour
• Bill Kennedy
• Michael Fitzhugh
• Sean Michael Lenart
• Thomas Sissom
• Roy Glen Brewer
• Tommy Thompson
• John Albertson III
• Bill West III