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Three indicted on rape charges

By Becky Campbell
Press Staff Writer
bcampbell@johnsoncitypress.com

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Three rape cases were among some of the evidence a Washington County grand jury heard while in session on Tuesday, and all three defendants were indicted on the charges.

Joshua Theall, 27, was indicted on nine counts of rape of a child for allegedly raping a 6-year-old girl.

According to court records, Theall physically penetrated the girl and forced her to have oral sex nine different times between March 2007 and March 2009.

He is being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $425,000 bond.

In a second case, Theall was indicted on aggravated assault for allegedly throwing a hammer at his wife. That incident reportedly occurred on March 18 at the couple’s home on Taylor Bridge Road.

Other cases the grand jury voted to indict included:

• Samuel Dean Kirkland Jr., 30, 171 Candle Knob Road — aggravated sexual battery and two counts of rape of a child.

The three occurrences allegedly happened on Aug. 23 at Kirkland’s residence while a 6-year-old child was at his home, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Kirkland was apparently trusted by the child’s family and allegedly raped the boy while the child was in his care. According to the allegations, Kirkland fondled the child and then raped the child twice.

• Ernest “Ernie” B. Hamm, 65, 1703 E. Oakland Ave. — sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of aggravated rape.

According to Johnson City police, Hamm took a 17-year-old girl to one of his rental buildings where she was going to stay for the night and raped her. After the incident the teenager reported it to police.

• Gary Conrad, 40, 707 Fairway Drive, Elizabethton — theft over $10,000, 48 counts of forgery under $1,000 and 21 counts of forgery over $1,000. The charges stem from money missing from a local business. According to court documents, Conrad worked as an accountant for Glass & Concrete Contracting, 200 E. Main St.

The owner, Sean Williams, became suspicious when the business profits began decreasing, so he hired another person to audit his business records. That audit revealed Conrad had forged Williams’ name on 69 business checks, writing them payable to himself. The check amounts range between $183 and $$1150.

Conrad is being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.

In one case the grand jury heard testimony on, the panel returned a “no true bill.” That means the panel did not find enough evidence to send the case to a judge to continue prosecution.

The charge was felony reckless endangerment against Charles Edward Bales, 38, of Johnson City. He was accused of trying to run over his former sister-in-law during a meeting with her and his ex-wife.

Bales still faces a charge of theft over $60,000 for allegedly stealing money from the youth fund at Fairhaven United Methodist Church.