On May 23, 2023, PCSO Detective Gary Harris began assisting the Baxter Police Department with a theft at Portobello America, located at 8701 Ditty Rd in Baxter, TN, where 1000 feet of copper wire was reported stolen from a construction site. Investigators also found a crashed side-by-side vehicle and blood at the scene, and collected a sterile DNA swab of the blood droplets that was submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for analysis.

The official TBI lab results arrived on February 25, 2026 and identified the DNA profile as Carl Jackson Thurman Petty, who at the time was already in Sullivan County Jail on charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and two counts of Criminal Trespassing. Sheriff Farris noted that the partnership with the TBI Crime Lab is crucial for turning evidence into accountability and ensuring responsible parties are identified in Putnam County.

On April 28, 2026, Petty was transferred to the Putnam County Jail and charged with Theft of Property, Burglary, and Vandalism, with his bond set at $38,000 and a court date scheduled for May 13, 2026.