TN+Drug+Offenses+Local+Case

By George Jackson Reporter-Producer / News Channel 11 Published: May 30, 2008 **Background:** The first decade of the 21st century has been hard on Johnson County residents Jim and Sarah Osborne. “I just wonder what’s going to happen next, you know? Just take me out,“ Sarah said. Doctors diagnosed her with cancer in 2002. Years later, she would lose two sons within 16 months. One of those sons, Ricky Osborne, died in the passenger seat of his friend’s car. He was 27. The friend, Joey Hamm, ended Ricky’s life while driving drunk, the district attorney said. Hamm was racing more than thirty miles over the speed limit—47 mph in a 15 mph zone. His trial for vehicular homicide is scheduled for July 24th. Stacey Snyder shot another one of Sarah’s sons, Donnie Osborne, to death on December 13th, 2005. Snyder appeared in court Thursday for a sentencing hearing. The Osborne boys were not saints. Ricky had a drug habit, and if the autopsy is accurate, Donnie did too. He tested positive for methamphetamine and alcohol. Sarah said Donnie’s divorce, difficult custody battles, and chronic back pain weakened his resistance to the drug scene around him. In 2002, Sarah said she had to call the state on Ricky in a desperate attempt to keep users out of the trailer behind her house. **December 13, 2005:** Snyder shot Donnie with a muzzleloader—a rifle used for hunting elk or deer. The 50-calibre slug hit him in the shoulder and Donnie bled to death in a matter of seconds. When police arrived, Donnie’s truck was gone. The victim was lying in a pool of blood. He had a length of rope and a baseball bat at his side, and a pair of brass knuckles wrapped around one fist. During the trial, investigators testified Snyder drove Donnie’s truck to his uncle’s property after the shooting. He turned himself in at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, accompanied by his father and the family pastor. Former Investigator Richard Knowles took Snyder’s statement, after a brief trip to the crime scene. (To hear part of his testimony click on the related link below). Snyder claimed he acted in self-defense, “He tried to strike me with the bat, but I blocked it with the muzzleloader. I’m trying to back away, and asking him to stop, but he kept swinging the bat at me. I asked him to stop and he said, ‘You’re going to have to do it.‘“ Snyder said the next time Donnie tried to hit him, he fired. Assistant Prosecutor Kent Garland said the evidence did not back up Snyder’s claims. “Our theory was, those items were planted there by the defendant,“ he said. Former Sheriff Roger Gentry and former Investigator Richard Knowles did the best job they could under difficult circumstances, Garland said. It was dark outside and Donnie’s body was lying in a pool of blood. He was also in the middle of a busy road. But the state’s attorney admitted, police failed to collect fingerprints from the crime scene—including the bat and brass knuckles. “You always see things you could have done better or different,“ he said. Investigators also overlooked the pin, a part of the gun’s triggering system, sitting inside Donnie’s truck. “A citizen turned it in,“ Garland said. **After the Shooting:** Snyder did not have a felony history, but he was arrested twice after the shooting. In April of 2007, Snyder cut down five trees on Jim McKinnis’ property without permission. The poplar and four walnut trees were valued at $4,077. “I seen them going down the road with them and wondered where in the world they got them at. I come to find out they got mine,“ he said. Six months later, Snyder was arrested again. Police said he threatened his sister-in-law with a rifle, and fired a shot off her front porch. He had methamphetamines, a spoon, and four syringes in a jacket pocket. **The Sentence:** Stacey Snyder was sentenced to 42 months in prison on each felony conviction—reckless homicide and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days on each misdemeanor conviction—drug possession and possession of an explosive device.Those sentences will be served concurrently, meaning at the same time. Snyder will be eligible for parole after 30-percent of his sentence. That means he could spend as few as one-year and 15 days behind bars. http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/johnson_county_mother_loses_two_sons_in_16_months_anticipates_ruling/10099/