Suspected police informant punched by Walls

A teen who broke the jaw of a man who he believed ratted him out to police was bound to the grand jury for the alleged attack and a string of residential burglaries.

The defendant, Brandon Walls, 18, was bound to the grand jury by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross Tuesday on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated burglary. He, along with co-defendant, James N. Hale, who waived his right to preliminary hearing for his part in the alleged burglary spree, will go before the grand jury next month.

Walls was bound after the alleged victim of his assault, Johnny Tanner, testified he was confronted by Walls at a keg party. Tanner said Walls punched him after claiming he had told authorities about the burglaries. Tanner said he suffered a broken jaw which will require surgery.

?I didn?t know where I was for a while,? Tanner said in response to questions by the defense as to why he remained at the party for nearly an hour after he was hit. ?I didn?t know it was broke until I got home, then it started hurting real bad.?

At the heart of the issue, prosecutors maintain, was the belief by Walls that Tanner had informed police about his involvement in a pair of burglaries. There was no evidence during the hearing that Tanner was the informant as lawmen refused to reveal the identity of that person.

Walls and Hale are charged with break-ins of homes at Eastside and Southside subdivisions, both of which happened in late May.

A number of items were taken in the Eastside burglary, including numerous DVDs, 82 of which were later sold to Hastings by members of the burglary crew. Most have been recovered.

Sheriff?s Investigator Jim Hartman, when asked how he knew the DVDs sold at Hastings were the same ones taken in the Eastside burglary, pointed out the titles recovered from the store matched the list of those taken and that the DVDs had been sold on the exact same day as the burglary. Hartman added Walls has confessed to taking part in the burglaries but not disposing of the merchandise.

The second burglary in the Southside subdivision saw the theft of three guns. One gun was reportedly sold and later recovered while two others were reportedly thrown in respective rivers around the county. Hartman noted the money gained from selling one of the stolen guns was used to buy methamphetamine. He also pointed out the man who bought the gun still owed the thieves money as he gave them an ?IOU? for $100 of the selling price.