Monroe County, Tennessee, theft case dismissed against two of three charged in 2020 TBI investigation

Ben Benton, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.

Feb. 23—A 2020 TBI case against a Monroe County, Tennessee, couple that led to felony theft charges that were dismissed Monday should never have been prosecuted in the first place, according to an attorney defending two of the three people arrested in the investigation.

The couple, Timothy and Mary Ellen Sellin, 60 and 61, respectively, "had their reputations destroyed by this unjust prosecution," Athens, Tennessee, attorney Stephen Hatchett said in an email. Hatchett strongly criticized the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office in its prosecution of the case.

Charges were dismissed on a state motion Monday that had been filed against the Sellins and their fellow defendant in the case, 72-year-old Anthony Aram Millsaps, Monroe County Criminal Circuit Court records show. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the dismissal, and Millsaps' attorney, Madisonville lawyer Steven B. Ward, could not be reached for comment.

The three were accused by the TBI of stealing about $30,000 from the Monroe County 4-H Scholastic Clay Target Program over several years. Mary Ellen Sellin handled funds for the organization, while Timothy Sellin and Millsaps served as coaches, the TBI said in a Feb. 5, 2020, news release on the arrests. Each was charged with theft over $10,000, a class C felony that, in a conviction, carries a potential sentence of three to 15 years in prison, depending on criminal history, and up to a $10,000 fine.

The case was faulty from the outset, Hatchett said. The TBI lists the victim as being the Monroe County 4-H Club, he said, but the club "had nothing to do with this case and was not a victim of a theft, a fact I confirmed personally with Greg Austin, the director of the Monroe County 4-H Club."

A proper review of financial records would have cleared the defendants of wrongdoing, Hatchett said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sellin actually spent thousands of dollars of their own money trying to help the youth of Monroe County," he said. "This case should never have been prosecuted and the self-serving reasons given by the district attorney general's office for dismissing the case does not accurately describe the legal issues."

In the court documents dismissing the charges signed by Criminal Court Judge Andrew Freiberg, prosecutors said that "[a]lthough the state's proof would show that Defendant[s] used funds of the Monroe County Shooters club for [their] own personal gain and not for the benefit of the club and its members as the funds were intended, defendant[s] would be considered ... owner[s] of the club under the law and therefore the elements of theft cannot be met," criminal court records state in each defendant's case.

On Tuesday, 10th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Crump said there were no "self-serving" intentions behind the statement. As elements of the case developed, Crump said, the assistant district attorney on the case, Shari Tayloe, determined the case couldn't go forward.

"I think, as with every criminal case, as you get into the prosecution of it the nuances of the facts become clearer, and this is a perfect example of that," Crump said. "It did come down to being able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the ownership of the property, which is a necessary element of the offense."

Tayloe made the correct decision that "we could not carry our burden and so we did what we would do in any case when we get to that circumstance, we decline to prosecute it," Crump said. "It was the right thing to do.

"Whether ... it's 'self-serving' or not, I don't know that any statement of dismissal is ever necessarily 'self-serving,'" Crump said. "It is the explanation for the court which is usually required."

It may not be over yet for the Sellins, though.

"I expect that the resulting civil proceedings will show clearly the extent of the injustice done to the Sellins," Hatchett said.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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