Case No. 1:18-cv-00053 (U.S. District Court, E.D. Tennessee – Chattanooga Division). Filed: March 2018.
Parties: Plaintiff Evelyn Blevins; Defendants Marion County, Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett (in official and individual capacity), Jail Administrator Tammy McAlpin, Deputy Jonathan Wingo, and John/Jane Doe deputiesgovinfo.gov.
Allegations: Blevins, a pretrial detainee, claimed jail staff were deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs. She was incarcerated in Marion County Jail in February 2017 for a probation violation and requested her blood-pressure medications, but jail personnel failed to provide them. Over about two weeks, Blevins’ condition deteriorated – she suffered headaches, eye pain, and eventually collapsed with a stroke on February 28, 2017govinfo.gov. The complaint alleges jail deputies ignored her pleas and even tore up her written grievance. When paramedics finally arrived, a jail supervisor allegedly refused to pay for an ambulance, causing further delay in treatment. Blevins sustained permanent harm from the stroke (partial paralysis, loss of motor function) and incurred significant medical costs. She sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of her Fourteenth Amendment rights, and also asserted state-law negligence claims, arguing Sheriff Burnett, as the official responsible for jail policies, failed to ensure adequate medical care.
Status/Outcome: The case was resolved in 2020. The federal court dismissed most claims and granted judgment for the defendants. In a June 5, 2020, order, Judge Travis McDonough held that Blevins’s allegations did not establish a direct, actionable role by Sheriff Burnett in the medical neglect, so all claims against Sheriff Burnett were dismissed. The court also dismissed Blevins’s claims against Marion County and her state-law claims (without prejudice). The remaining federal claims (against the jail administrator and a deputy for deliberate indifference) were later dismissed on summary judgment, as the court found no genuine issue of fact for trial. In sum, the lawsuit was terminated with no liability for Sheriff Burnett or the county, and Blevins did not recover damages.

Case No. 1:18-cv-00213 (U.S. District Court, E.D. Tennessee). Filed: September 14, 2018.
Parties: Plaintiff Raymond Hardie Cox (pro se); Defendants Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnette, Marion County, and multiple law enforcement officers (identified as Bill Powell, Chris Masterson, Terry Gann, Tim Prince, Corey Beasley, Bill Gallagher, and two “John Doe” deputies) dockets.justia.com.
Allegations: Cox filed a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Sheriff Burnette, Marion County, and several deputies violated his rights during a law enforcement encounter. (The complaint’s detailed allegations were not widely reported, but an excerpt indicates Cox claimed he was mistreated by officers – for example, one snippet suggests he “made the call only to allow Marion County Deputy [Justin] …” [the text is truncated] – implying Cox may have called authorities for help and then was subjected to wrongful conduct by deputies casetext.com.) Cox’s suit appeared to challenge the conduct of Marion County officers and the Sheriff’s policies, seeking relief for alleged constitutional violations.
Status/Outcome: The case was dismissed in 2019. The court found Cox’s claims insufficient and failed to state a plausible claim against Sheriff Burnette or the County. In a July 2019 decision, the judge noted that Cox’s allegations against Marion County and Sheriff Burnette were too speculative and did not rise above conclusory assertions, warranting dismissal, casetext.com. The lawsuit was dismissed at the screening/pleading stage for failure to prosecute or failure to state a claim. No relief was granted to Cox, and Sheriff Burnette was not found liable in this matter, casetext.com.

Case No. 1:21-cv-00055 (U.S. District Court, E.D. Tennessee – Chattanooga Division). Filed: March 17, 2021 dockets.justia.com.
Parties: Plaintiff Willard J. King; Defendants Sequatchie County, Marion County, Hamilton County, Marion County Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett, and several officers from those agencies (including Marion County deputies Matt Blansett, Justin Graham, Paige Durham; Hamilton County detective Andrew Voss; Sequatchie County deputy Jody Lockhart; and others) dockets.justia.com.
Allegations: This is a federal civil rights lawsuit (42 U.S.C. § 1983) arising from an October 3, 2019, SWAT raid on Willard King’s home in Dunlap, TN. Multiple agencies (including Marion County’s SWAT team) executed a high-risk search warrant as part of a homicide investigation (the search for a missing man, Matthew Henry, suspected to have been killed and possibly buried on King’s property) wdef.com wdef.com. King, a 64-year-old grandfather, claimed that during the raid, officers used excessive force on him even though he was not involved in the crime. newschannel9.com newschannel9.com. In particular, King says a Marion County deputy struck him in the face with a ballistic shield, breaking his nose, in front of King’s granddaughter and great-grandchild. He alleges he was thrown to the ground, unlawfully detained, and injured even though the warrant was for someone else (a “John Doe”). Sheriff Burnett publicly defended his deputy at the time, claiming King had charged at the officer and the use of force was in self-defense  newschannel9.com. King’s lawsuit asserts violations of his Fourth Amendment rights (excessive force, unlawful seizure) and possibly other claims like false arrest. He seeks $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages newschannel9.com.
Status/Outcome: The case proceeded in federal court. As of late 2024, significant developments occurred, but no final judgment on all defendants has been made yet. In October 2024, the court ruled on summary judgment motions: Sheriff Burnett (and Marion County) were granted summary judgment, meaning King’s claims against Burnett in both official and individual capacity were dismissed by the judge before trial. The court noted that Sheriff Burnett was not personally present or involved in the raid, so he could not be held individually liable for failing to intervene, govinfo.gov. Other officers were also dismissed from the case on various grounds (one defendant, Deputy Matt Blansett, had died in the interim), govinfo.gov. However, not all claims were eliminated – the court allowed certain claims (for example, an excessive force claim against at least one officer) to proceed. In particular, the officer who allegedly struck King (identified as Justin Graham in the filings) did not get summary judgment on the excessive force claim, govinfo.gov, meaning that portion of the case survived. No trial outcome has been reported yet for the remaining claims; as of 2025, the lawsuit is still ongoing in the damages phase or awaiting trial on the surviving claims. (Notably, this case has drawn local media attention due to the sensational nature of the raid and King’s injuries, newschannel9.com newschannel9.com.)

Case No. 1:21-cv-00313 (U.S. District Court, E.D. Tennessee – Chattanooga Division). Filed: December 22, 2021, newschannel9.com, newschannel9.com.
Parties: Plaintiff Reatha Haynes (on behalf of the estate of Crystal Dawn Thurman, deceased)newschannel9.com; Defendants Marion County, Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett, and several Marion County Jail officers (including corrections officers Jordan Easterly and Davey Ryan King, among others)dockets.justia.com.
Allegations: This federal civil rights wrongful death lawsuit centers on the death of Crystal Thurman, a thirty-something female inmate at the Marion County Jail, in January 2021. Thurman was arrested on January 29, 2021, for drug possession and was admitted to the jail’s female unit. She informed jail staff that she was a recovering opioid addict on Suboxone therapy and was experiencing withdrawal symptoms (seizures, body aches, etc.), newschannel9.com. Over the next two days, Thurman’s condition worsened — fellow inmates observed her having seizure-like episodes on her newschannel9.com. The lawsuit alleges that jailers failed to provide timely medical care, effectively exhibiting deliberate indifference to her serious medical needsnewschannel9.comnewschannel9.com. Thurman suffered a severe seizure on January 31, 2021, and was eventually transported to a hospital (Parkridge West), but later newschannel9.com. The complaint claims that Sheriff Burnett and his jail staff “unreasonably and negligently” delayed critical care for Thurman due to lack of proper training, understaffing, and inattentiveness, amounting to gross negligence and constitutional violationsnewschannel9.com. It also notes that Thurman was not given any of her prescribed withdrawal medications in jail; the only treatment documented was Narcan administered en route to the hospitalnewschannel9.com. The suit seeks $10 million in compensatory and $10 million in punitive damages for Thurman’s wrongful newschannel9.com, and it names Sheriff Burnett in both his official capacity (for county liability) and individual capacity.
Status/Outcome: The Thurman case was filed in late 2021 and is ongoing. As of 2025, it remains pending in the Eastern District of Tennessee – no final judgment has been reported. Early in the case, the defendants (Marion County, Sheriff Burnett, and jail officers) filed motions to dismiss, but the plaintiff filed an amended complaint in January 2022, which superseded the original. The litigation has since been moving through discovery and pre-trial stages. No public indication of a settlement or trial outcome has emerged yet. The allegations, however, were covered in local news at the time of filing, underscoring the seriousness of the claimsnewschannel9.comnewschannel9.com. Sheriff Burnett has not publicly commented in detail on this case, and its resolution (whether via settlement or court judgment) is still pending. The case illustrates a significant civil rights challenge against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Burnett regarding inmate medical care.

Case No. 1:24-cv-00303 (U.S. District Court, E.D. Tennessee – Chattanooga Division). Filed: August 30, 2024svalleynow.com.
Parties: Plaintiff Thomas William Morgan; Defendants Marion County Government, County Commission Chairperson Linda Mason, Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett, and Sheriff’s Deputy Dale Winters. (Mason, Burnett, and Winters are sued in their capacities, and the County is sued for indemnification purposes.)
Allegations: Morgan, a Marion County resident, filed this §1983 civil rights suit claiming that county officials violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights by wrongfully ejecting him from two public County Commission meetings. The incidents occurred on January 22, 2024, and again on June 24, 2024, during commission meetings at which Morgan attempted to speak during the public comment periods. According to the complaint, at the January meeting, Morgan took the podium to discuss an agenda item (allocation of public infrastructure funds), but Commission Chair Linda Mason repeatedly interrupted him and warned him to stay on approved topics. When Morgan objected to Mason’s restriction of his comments, Mason stated, “I can have you removed if you like,” and summoned law enforcement. Sheriff Burnett and Deputy Dale Winters, who were present providing security, physically removed Morgan from the podium and escorted him out, allegedly using unnecessary force to silence him. Morgan alleges he was not being disruptive or off-topic to a degree warranting removal, and that his right to free speech at an open public meeting was infringed. A similar confrontation happened at the June 2024 meeting: Mason allegedly pointed at and “talked down to” Morgan when he tried to speak, and again had Sheriff’s deputies (under Burnett’s authority) remove him from the room svalleynow.com svalleynow.com. The lawsuit asserts First Amendment retaliation and free-speech violations, as well as Fourth Amendment claims for unreasonable seizure (being grabbed and removed without legal cause) and possibly assault/battery under state law. Morgan seeks $300,000 in damages for these incidents svalleynow.com.
Status/Outcome: This case is in its early stages (filed late 2024). Summons were served in September 2024pacermonitor.com, and the defendants will likely respond in court. As of early 2025, no resolution yet – the suit is pending with discovery or motions practice expected. The lawsuit was reported in local media, which even shared video footage of the meetings on social media. County officials have not publicly commented in detail on the litigation, though implicitly they deny violating Morgan’s rights. The case is ongoing, with Morgan pressing his claims that Sheriff Burnett (by his deputies) and the commission chair unlawfully silenced and removed him. No trial date has been set yet.

Initiation: March 2021 – TBI Investigation opened at the request of local officialsyahoo.comfacebook.com.
Background: Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett was involved in prompting a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) probe into the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force (DTF) in 2021. The 12th Judicial District DTF, which serves Marion County and surrounding counties, came under scrutiny for potential evidence mishandling and misconduct. In early 2021, Sheriff Burnett and Sequatchie County Sheriff Coy Swanger reported concerns to the District Attorney about a particular drug seizure case and the conduct of DTF Director Cody Smith. These concerns launched a TBI investigation in March 2021.
Findings: The investigation (along with a parallel Tennessee Comptroller audit) uncovered that DTF Director Smith had misappropriated funds and evidence over several years. A Comptroller’s report released in May 2021 found that Smith stole or misused about $7,246 in confidential drug-buy money and seized cash between 2017 and 2021wcyb.comwcyb.com. For example, he drew cash ostensibly for controlled buys with no documentation, and once failed to log $3,771 of seized cash (even forging another officer’s signature on a form)wcyb.com wcyb.com. Additionally, separate criminal activity by Smith came to light: he had been taking seized narcotics. Smith was fired on May 31, 2021 as a result of these investigations wcyb.com. In 2022, he was indicted and ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell (related to drugs stolen from evidence)wcyb.com wcyb.com. In 2024, Smith was sentenced to two 10-year terms (probated after serving 11 months, 29 days) in Marion County wcyb.com. Due to statute of limitations issues, he did not face additional charges for the financial crimes uncovered by the auditwcyb.com.
Sheriff Burnett’s Role: Burnett was not a target of this investigation; rather, he acted in his official capacity to raise the alarm about wrongdoing. He cooperated with the TBI and Comptroller inquiries. The 12th Judicial District’s DTF board (which includes area sheriffs) took corrective action by removing Smith. This episode, however, is notable as a legal investigation involving Sheriff Burnett’s office, since it concerned the integrity of law enforcement operations in Marion County. The outcome bolstered oversight of task force activities – as Comptroller Jason Mumpower emphasized, law enforcement must maintain strict evidence and finance controlswcyb.comwcyb.com. Sheriff Burnett’s department was the source of the initial tip that led to this investigationyahoo.comfacebook.com, and no misconduct was attributed to Burnett himself. The case concluded with the former DTF director held accountable in criminal court.

Court: Indictments in Smith County and Van Buren County, TN (2024); arrest in Marion County.
Background: In a separate criminal matter reflecting on the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, a former part-time deputy was investigated for sexual misconduct. In August 2023, the TBI opened an investigation into allegations that Marshall A. Raines, then a 82-year-old part-time court officer/bailiff with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, had sexually assaulted female inmates during transport tbinewsroom.com tbinewsroom.com. Raines was accused of abusing his position while escorting inmates from Marion County to a state facility, with incidents occurring between September 2022 and March 2023 tbinewsroom.com. Three women came forward claiming Raines groped and sexually assaulted them in the transport vehicle.
Charges: The investigation led to multiple indictments in 2024. On August 5, 2024, a Smith County grand jury indicted Raines on one count each of Sexual Battery, Sexual Contact with an Inmate, Official Misconduct, and Official Oppression. Similarly, a Van Buren County grand jury indicted him on two counts each of those charges (reflecting assaults occurring in that jurisdiction), tbinewsroom.com. Raines turned himself in on September 9, 2024 at the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and was arrested on the outstanding warrants tbinewsroom.com. He was subsequently booked in Smith County and Van Buren County to answer the indictments (bonds set at $20,000 and $80,000)tbinewsroom.com tbinewsroom.com.
Sheriff Burnett’s Involvement: Burnett’s department cooperated with TBI once the allegations surfaced. Raines was promptly removed from duty and is no longer employed by the Sheriff’s Office, tbinewsroom.com. While Sheriff Burnett is not a defendant in this criminal case, the matter constitutes a legal action involving his office in that it exposed misconduct by one of his (former) deputies in the course of duty. The case is being prosecuted by a special pro tem prosecutor due to its multi-jurisdictional nature, binewsroom.com. As of the latest information (late 2024), Raines awaits trial on these felony charges. This incident prompted the Sheriff’s Department to review its transport procedures and underscored the department’s accountability for the actions of its officers. Burnett publicly affirmed that Raines would face justice; the Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation and arresttbinewsroom.com tbinewsroom.com. The Raines case does not involve any accusation of wrongdoing by Sheriff Burnett himself, but it is included here as it’s a notable court action connected to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department during Burnett’s tenure.

Sources: Each case or incident above is documented through court records and reputable news sources. Federal court filings (opinions and dockets) provide case names, numbers, and outcomes at govinfo.gov. govinfo.govdockets.justia.com. Local news outlets — such as WTVC NewsChannel 9, WDEF News 12, and Sequatchie Valley Now — have reported on these matters, supplying summaries of allegations and status updatesnewschannel9.comnewschannel9.comsvalleynow.com. Key references are linked inline for verification of the filing dates, charges or claims, and resolutions for each listed legal action. Each entry focuses on Sheriff Burnett’s professional role in the matter, whether as a named defendant in civil litigation or as the head of the department involved in investigations. All information is drawn from public records and credible news reporting in the past 10 years. svalleynow.comnewschannel9.com