| Sources |
- [S84] E-Mail, Lisa Sutton [chancenvictoria@comcast.net], 27 Sep 2010.
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name Date of Death / Age County of Death County / State of Residence Marital Status Gender Race File #
BRANCH JAMES 07-01-2007 / 29 GREENE GREENE / TN MARRIED M WHITE 30172
- [S1] U. S. Social Security Death Index, 414-53-5634.
Issued in Tennessee, residing in Mohawk, Greene County, Tennessee
- [S142] Newspaper Article.
James David Branch, age 29, of Mohawk passed away suddenly at his home Sunday, July 1, 2007.
James was preceded in death by his grandmother, Louise Branch, aunt, Beatrice Gardner and grandfather, Orie McMahan and grandfather-in-law, George F. Kirk Jr. He is survived by his wife, of 12 years, Karen Branch of Mohawk, sons, Cory and Christopher Branch, parents, James J. and Sally Branch and sister, Kelly Branch, grandparents, Floyd and Mary Ann Branch and Jim and Vicky Boling, father and mother-in-law, Ray and Ruth Kirk and many other family and friends.
The family will receive friends Thursday, July 5, 2007; at Mayes Mortuary from 6-8 p.m. Funeral service will be conducted Friday, July 6, 2007, at 12 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church with the Rev. Jon Sim and the Rev. Don Davis officiating. James will lie in state from 11-12 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will be in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery.
Arrangements by Mayes Mortuary in Morristown.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Greeneville Sun, 7 Jan 2009.
Grand Jury Indicts County Man On 2nd-Degree Murder Charge
Ronald Lee Bible
Accused In Shooting
Of James D. Branch
On July 6, 2007
By BILL JONES
A Greene County grand jury on Monday indicted a Mohawk-area man for second-degree murder in connection with a July 1, 2007, shooting death.
In indicting Ronald Lee Bible, 59, of 3440 Mt. Hope Road, for second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of James David Branch, the grand jury rejected a possible charge of first-degree murder, according to court records.
Bible had been arrested on July 6, 2007, at the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the July 1 shooting death of Branch, also of Mohawk.
The indictment said Branch was shot with a 9-mm handgun.
The fatal shooting followed an altercation between the two men at Branch's Josie Road residence, according to a Greene County Sheriff's Department report.
Sheriff Steve Burns later said the altercation resulted from a disagreement over money.
Bible said he shot Branch in self-defense, Sheriff Burns said in 2007.
But that version of the events was sharply disputed by a woman who identified herself as Branch's wife. She told The Greeneville Sun in July 2007 that she witnessed the actions that resulted in her husband's death.
Sheriff's Deputy Michael Jones wrote in his report that he found Branch lying on the ground face up in front of his garage.
The report said Jones responded to a neighbor's report to the Sheriff's Department at 11:35 p.m. on July 1, 2007, that a shot had been fired.
Burns said a gunshot entered Branch's left abdomen and exited from the right side of his back.
Bible was injured in the fight, treated at Laughlin Memorial Hospital overnight, and released, Burns said in 2007.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Greeneville Sun, 10 May 2010.
Jury Seated In 2nd Degree Murder Case
BY BILL JONES
A jury of 10 women and two men was seated at 10:40 a.m. in Greene County Criminal Court to hear the second-degree murder trial of a Mount Hope Road man.
Ronald Lee Bible, 60, of 3740 Mount Hope Road, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the July 1, 2007, shooting death of James David Branch.
In addition to the 12 jurors chosen, two alternate jurors, one man and one woman, also were chosen.
Opening statements were expected to begin shortly after 11 a.m. today after a morning break.
Assistant District Attorneys Cecil Mills Jr. and Doug Godbee are prosecuting the case, while Bible is being defended by Greeneville attorneys Louis Ricker and Douglas Payne.
The statements made from the bench by Judge John Dugger indicated that the case is likely to take several days.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Greeneville Sun, 11 May 2010.
Ronald Lee Bible Trial Started Monday
Jury Is Seated
In Shooting Death
Of James Branch
BY BILL JONES
The second-degree murder trial of a Mohawk man began Monday in Greene County Criminal Court.
Ronald Lee Bible, 60, of 3740 Mount Hope Road, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the July 1, 2007, shooting death of James David Branch.
A jury of 10 women and two men was seated by shortly after 10 a.m. and two alternate jurors, one man and one woman, were chosen by 10:40 a.m.
Third Judicial District Criminal Court Judge John Dugger, who is presiding over the trial, dismissed other potential jurors.
The trial began about 11 a.m. with Assistant District Attorney General Cecil Mills reading the indictment that was returned against Bible on Jan. 5, 2009.
Mills and Doug Godbee are prosecuting the case, while Bible is being defended by Greeneville attorneys Douglas Payne and Louis Ricker.
The indictment, as read by Mills, alleged that Bible committed the offense of second-degree murder by "knowingly killing" James David Branch on July 1, 2007.
After Mills read the indictment, Judge Dugger asked how Bible wished to plead. "Not guilty," defense attorney Douglas Payne replied emphatically.
The judge then called for all witnesses who were expected to testify to come forward and be sworn in.
Twelve people, including sheriff's deputies and detectives and District Attorney's Investigator Allison Burns, did so.
After being sworn, all the potential witnesses, except Investigator Burns, were escorted by court officers from the courtroom to a waiting area.
Judge Dugger then read to the jury a "pre-charge" to the jury outlining the law applicable to the case and warning jurors not to have any contact with anyone about the case.
OPENING STATEMENTS
After Judge Dugger completed reading the "pre-charge," Assistant District Attorney Mills delivered his opening statement to the jury.
Defense attorney Payne followed with the defense's opening argument.
Both agreed, in their opening statements, that James David Branch died on the night of July 1, 2007, but agreed on little else.
In his opening remarks, Mills told the jury that late on the night of Sunday, July 1, 2007, James David Branch had been at his 146 Josie Road residence in Mohawk with his wife, Karen, and their two small children.
Mills said the Branch children had been sent to a rear room (for safety) because their parents feared that Ronald Lee Bible, to whom, James David Branch owed money might come to their residence seeking to collect the debt.
"By 11:45 p.m., Karen Branch would be essentially a widow and one of her children would be screaming outside the residence while his father was dying," Mills told the jury.
The assistant district attorney also told the jury that there had been a flurry of telephone calls between Ronald Lee Bible and James David Branch between June 30 and the night of July 1.
"The defendant (Bible) wanted his money," Mills told the jury.
Branch, Mills said, had told Bible that he had only $5 and that he was welcome to half of that.
Late that night, Mills told the jury, Bible drove to the Branch residence in a Chevrolet pickup truck.
Mills told the jury that Mrs. Branch would testify during the trial that after Bible emerged from the truck, a "little fight" between Bible and her husband ensued.
James David Branch "got the best" of the fight, according to Mrs. Branch. And, after brief discussion, Bible returned to his truck, Mills said Mrs. Branch would testify.
But as her husband stood outside beside the truck, Mills said, Mrs. Branch would testify that she heard a loud sound and heard her husband say "what did you do that for? And "Oh God it hurts' before slumping to the ground."
Mills told the jury that Bible had shot Branch with a 9-mm handgun and had driven away.
Mills also told the jury that Branch had had a set of brass knuckles that night, but noted that they had been found in one of his trouser pockets after his death.
The assistant district attorney also asked the jury to listen closely when tape recordings were played of calls to 911 from Karen Branch and from Ronald Lee Bible.
DEFENSE OPENING STATEMENT
After Mills completed his opening statement, defense attorney Payne came to the lectern to offer the defense's opening argument.
Payne told the jury that some time before May 29, 2007, Ronald Lee Bible had loaned James David Branch $100 and had been unable to get Branch to replay the debt.
But defense attorney Payne told the jury that Bible only went to the Branch residence on the night of July 1, 2007, because Branch called him and told him to come and collect his money.
Payne also told the jury that Bible and Branch knew each other and that Branch and his family had fished in Bible's pond. Branch, Payne said, also had done excavation work for Bible.
The defense attorney also said David and Karen Branch apparently had used the $100 that David Branch borrowed from Bible to purchase a marriage license. The couple, he said, previously had been married, had divorced and had reconciled.
On the night of July 1, 2007, Payne said, Ronald Lee Bible had been attacked by David Branch and struck in the head with an object that left him lying on the ground "dazed."
While Bible lay on the ground, Payne told the jury, he had been kicked by David Branch.
With blood covering his face and coming from head wounds, Bible had managed to make his way back to his truck, Payne told the jury. But soon, Branch came into the truck after Bible as he lay on his back. Fearing another beating, Payne said, Bible reached for a handgun for which he had a carry permit.
The two men then wrestled for control of the 9-mm handgun, which discharged, sending a bullet through Branch's body.
After Branch slumped to the ground, Payne told the jury, he "carefully" backed his truck from the driveway of the residence and drove to his home where he picked up his wife, who was a retired nurse and then began driving to Laughlin Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries suffered in the struggle with Branch.
Payne noted that Branch had telephoned Greene County 911 to report the shooting and had been "cooperative" with a Greene County Sheriff's Department dispatcher after the 911 call was transferred there.
Prosecutors began presenting their case on Monday afternoon and testimony was expected to continue today.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Greeneville Sun, 15 May 2010.
Jury Rules Homicide, Not Murder
BY BILL JONES
A Greene County Criminal Court jury deliberated for about two hours on Friday afternoon before finding a Mohawk resident who had been charged with second-degree murder guilty of the lesser-included offense of criminally-negligent homicide.
Attorneys said the jury left the courtroom to begin deliberating about 11:20 a.m. and returned with its verdict shortly before 1:30 p.m.
In so doing, the jury of nine women and three men rejected the original charge of second-degree murder that had been placed against Ronald Lee Bible, 60, of 3740 Mount Hope Road, Mohawk.
However, the jurors recommended that Third Judicial District Criminal Court Judge John Dugger, at sentencing, impose a $1,500 fine on Bible.
He had been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the late-night July 1, 2007, shooting death of James David Branch outside Branch's Josie Road residence.
Bible will remain free on bond pending sentencing, which is set for 1 p.m. on May 24, Criminal Court Judge John Dugger announced after the jury was dismissed shortly after 1:30 p.m.
Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee, who took part in prosecuting the case against Bible, said the criminally-negligent homicide charge is a "Class E felony" and carries a penalty of one to two years in prison upon conviction.
Judge Dugger told Bible on Friday afternoon that the court would set an appeal bond during his May 24 sentencing hearing.
In the meantime, the judge said, Bible can remain free on the bond set after he was indicted by a grand jury on the second-degree murder charge in January 2009.
Trial Began Monday
The trial had begun on Monday morning, with the jury being seated shortly after 10 a.m. Two alternate jurors, one man and one woman, also were chosen.
At about 11 a.m. Monday, Assistant District Attorney General Cecil Mills read to the jury the indictment that had been returned against Bible last year.
After Mills read the indictment, Judge Dugger asked how Bible wished to plead.
"Not guilty," defense attorney Douglas Payne replied emphatically.
In opening statements on Monday, Mills and Payne presented very different theories of how the July 1, 2007, fatal shooting took place.
Mills argued that the shooting was a murder in the second degree while Payne told the jury that his client had fired the fatal shot in self-defense.
The trial continued on Monday and Tuesday before a break on Wednesday so that Assistant District Attorney Mills could participate in a preliminary hearing for Ethan Self, 18, who is accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death earlier this year of his police officer father, Roger Self.
The Bible case continued on Thursday, with Judge Dugger adjourning court at 4:30 p.m. so jurors could be fresh to hear closing arguments from prosecution and defense attorneys on Friday morning.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, Judge Dugger told defense and prosecution attorneys that they would have an hour per side to present their closing arguments to the jury.
Assistant District Attorney Mills was first to present a closing argument.
Defense Attorney Payne then presented the defense's nearly-hour-long response.
After Payne delivered his summation to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee spent about 30 minutes finishing the prosecution's final argument to the jury.
Judge Dugger then spent about 20 minutes reading his "charge" to the jury before releasing the jurors to begin deliberation.
During his closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Mills told the jury that during the trial he had attempted to "give a voice to a dead man." The statement was a reference to James David Branch, who had died after being shot by Ronald Bible.
Mills told the jury that Branch had been shot to death on his own property by Bible, who had come there late at night seeking to collect a debt.
"If the defendant (Bible) had stayed home, you and I would not be here three years later," Mills told the jury.
Mills defined second-degree murder as "the knowing killing of another person."
"The only question in this case is whether or not it was a knowing killing," Mills argued.
The assistant district attorney told the jury that the prosecution admitted that Bible had been struck with brass knuckles by Branch during a fight that took place in front of Branch's garage.
But Mills pointed out that the brass knuckles were found by Deputy Sheriff Michael Jones in one of Branch's trouser pockets after he was pronounced dead at the shooting scene and his body lay in an ambulance.
Mills also told the jury that Branch's widow, Karen Branch, had testified that Bible had shot her husband 15 to 20 minutes after a fight between the two men had ended.
The fatal shot, Karen Branch had testified, had been fired by Bible from inside his pickup truck as James David Branch stood outside the vehicle, Mills told the jury on Friday.
"You can't shoot a man who is not attacking you," Mills argued emphatically to the jury.
Mills also told the jury that Karen Branch had consistently given authorities the same version of events since the fatal shooting took place.
Defense argument
Defense attorney Payne used his final argument to the jury to attack the credibility of Karen Branch, the only eyewitness to the July 1, 2007, shooting.
He also argued that Bible had come to the Branch residence late on the night of July 1, 2007, after receiving a telephone invitation to do so.
His client, Payne told the jury, had seen the late-night visit as a "last chance" to collect the $100 that Branch had borrowed from him earlier.
But after Bible reached the Branch residence, he exited his pickup truck and was struck in the back of the head by something "hard and heavy" and knocked to the ground.
Payne noted that Bible was 58 years old and weighed only 160 pounds while Branch was "nearly half his age" and weighed 190 pounds.
The defense attorney also labeled the brass knuckles that had been found on Branch's body "a deadly weapon" and noted that his client had suffered multiple injuries to his head and other parts of his body during the July 1, 2007, incident.
Payne also told the jury that Bible had pleaded with Branch to "let me go" after suffering what the defense attorney termed a "vicious beating."
Once Bible had struggled back inside his pickup truck, Payne told the jury, the vehicle's dome light was illuminated, revealing a 9-mm pistol lying in the passenger seat.
Payne reminded the jury that Bible had testified on Thursday that a struggle between Branch and himself for control of the pistol had begun after Branch saw the pistol and attempted to enter the truck's cab.
At one point, Payne said, both men had had their hands on the pistol before it fired, sending a bullet through Branch's body as he lay atop Bible inside the truck's cab.
'Red Herrings' Claimed
During his closing argument to the jury, defense attorney Payne accused the prosecution of using a series of "red herrings" to distract attention from weaknesses in its case.
He defined a red herring as "something that draws attention away from the central issue."
Among the alleged red herrings employed by the state during the trial, Payne argued to the jury, was a claim that Karen Branch could not read despite the fact that she had testified that she was a certified nursing assistant.
By claiming she could not read, Payne argued, Karen Branch avoided being questioned about written statements she had given authorities about the case.
Prosecution's Answer
In response, Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee told the jury later that Karen Branch could read only at a second-grade level, which was not well enough to be able to read the written statements.
Also in his closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Godbee told the jury that Karen Branch suffered from dyslexia.
Godbee also argued that the defense had tried to confuse the issue by arguing about "a lot of stuff that doesn't have anything to do with the case."
Concerning where Branch was when he was shot, Godbee reminded the jury that a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation expert had testified that Branch had no gunshot residue on his hands.
That, Godbee said, refuted the defense claim that Branch had been struggling for control of the pistol when it was fired.
Godbee also reminded the jury that the TBI expert had testified that tests had shown that Branch was between two and four feet from the gun when it discharged.
That, Godbee argued, meant that Branch likely was outside the truck when the fatal shot was fired.
Concerning Karen Branch's having consistently told the same version of how the shooting took place, Godbee told the jury that "she tells the same story because it's true."
Godbee also told the jury that the case was not self-defense. "It's second-degree murder, pure and simple," he said.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Greeneville Sun, 25 May 2010.
Homicide Case Draws 18-Month Term, Criticism From Judge
BY BILL JONES
A man who was found guilty earlier this month by a Greene County Criminal Court jury of criminally negligent homicide was sentenced on Monday to a year-and-six months in jail.
Ronald Lee Bible, 60, of 3740 Mount Hope Road, Mohawk, originally had been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the late-night July 1, 2007, shooting death of James David Branch outside Branch's Josie Road residence.
But on May 14 a Greene County Criminal Court jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
On Monday, Third Judicial District Criminal Court Judge John Dugger, Jr., imposed the year-and-a-half sentence on Bible during a 1:30 p.m. sentencing hearing at the Greene County Courthouse.
He also imposed a $1,500 fine the trial jury had recommended when it returned its verdict.
The sentencing range in Bible's case was from one-to-two years under state law.
Bible, who was sentenced as a "standard offender," will be eligible for release on parole once he completes 30 percent of his sentence.
In pronouncing sentence, Judge Dugger rejected a defense call for a sentence of probation only.
The judge also set a $30,000 appeal bond for Bible and set a hearing for a motion for a new trial for July 30 in Greene County Criminal Court.
During a sentencing hearing conducted before he imposed the sentence, Judge Dugger said he found that two enhancing factors and one mitigating factor applied in Bible's case.
But the judge said he rejected a defense claim that Bible had acted with "extreme provocation" in fatally shooting Branch.
Defense attorney Douglas Payne had argued that Bible was provoked by a "vicious beating" administered by Branch.
JUDGE'S COMMENTS
But Judge Dugger said Bible had actually provoked Branch into calling Bible to come to his home late on the night of July 1, 2007, by repeatedly calling Branch over a two-day period demanding repayment of $100 that Branch owed to Bible.
The judge also said during the hearing that he did not believe Bible's testimony during the trial that Branch owed the money for a loan Bible had given him to enable him to purchase a marriage license.
Judge Dugger pointed out that Bible had made a statement at the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City a week after the shooting that he had fired the shot that killed Branch because Branch was attempting to steal his medication.
The judge said from the bench that "a thin line of drugs" had run through the case and said he believed Bible had been trying to collect money from Branch that was owed for the purchase of "pills."
"The number one problem for the country is pills, pills and more pills," the judge said.
The judge also noted that he found it a contradiction that Bible, who is a military veteran, displayed the American flag on the pickup truck he drove on the night of shooting and was at the same time apparently selling drugs.
"Drugs do more harm than any enemy you ever faced," the judge said.
Bible, the judge said, also had a "sporadic, but lengthy" criminal history.
He also said he had "not seen a lot of remorse" from Bible regarding the death of Branch.
The judge noted that many of the more than 3,900 criminal filings with which he dealt across the Third Judicial District during the last fiscal year involved abuse of prescription pain-killing drugs.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
571201 JAMES BRANCH SALLY ANN BRANCH
- [S131] Divorce Record.
Husband's Name Wife's First Name Wife's Maiden Name County Court Date of Divorce File #
BRANCH JAMES SALLY A NOT GIVEN HAMBLEN CIRCUIT 11-26-1996 27416
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
BRANCH JAMES SALLY A BOLING SEVIER 05-12-2005 17564
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
BRANCH JAMES D KAREN L KIRK HAMBLEN 06-03-1995 31343
|
Search | Advanced Search
1977 - 2007 (29 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
= Link to Google Maps