Cannon rehab facilities CLOSED

MIKE WEST
Courier Editor

A series of rehabilitation facilities have been permanently closed in Cannon County and three suspects charged in the case.

"The Cannon County Sheriff's Department would like to make the general public of this county aware that the Scientology facilities are closed and not operating in Cannon County," a statement from the Sheriff's office said.

Attorney David Veile, representing some of the individuals involved in the case, said the facilities were not operated by the Church of Scientology.

The 16th Judicial District of the state of Tennessee, Cannon County, has charged three suspects in the case. Two of the three, Dennis Flamond and Hans Snyder Lytle, entered guilty pleas in General Sessions Court on two counts of false imprisonment.

The third suspect, Marc Vallieres, was charged with two felony charges of facilitation to kidnapping in Circuit Court. Vallieres pleaded "by information" in Circuit Court.

Circuit Judge David Bragg ruled in this final disposition of the cases that "all facilities in Cannon County are closed and will not operate any resident facilities in Cannon County, TN."

Faculties were discovered on Sunshine Lane and on Sycamore Creek Road.

A 911 emergency phone call provided the Sheriff's Office with the opportunity to go inside the facility which they described as a double-wide trailer with several tiny cabins located behind it.

"We proceeded up the hill through a gated, makeshift paddock that is secured externally with a steel latch." The officers reported the individual who called them was looking out through a Plexiglas window.

"He is locked inside the cabin with no way to remove himself from the building. The caretaker unlocks the door and lets us enter the cabin.

"The cabin is bare there is a small pile of sheets in the corner, there are no obvious amenity for life, " the officers reported.

The man being held there tells the officers he is being held against his will and is given unknown medications. He explains that he is there to have rehab and get cleansed though Scientology.

"He states that he has been there for nine months and is being mistreated and falsely imprisoned and all he wants is to go home." the officers said.

The man then shows his room to officers.

"It is a small room with a single bed in it, the bed is bare except for a one sheet that he covers up with, his bathroom is the only room with a light."

When the officers stepped out of the little cabin, the door is locked back and they return to the double-wide trailer where the caretaker (identified as Dennis Flamond} gives them a history of the person. He also tells them the manager of the facility is currently in Los Angeles undergoing courses. He refuses to give them his contact information.

Cannon County Emergency Medical Service is called and officers to get to speak to the manager who is identified is Hans Snyder Lytle.

"I explained to him that no one on this facility is a licensed healthcare provider and no one here has power of attorney over him so if he feels that he needs to go to the hospital, then he will have to be transported," Investigator Brandon Gullett said.

After transporting him to the Emergency Room, Gullett and Deputy Turney return to the Cannon County Sheriff's Department to begin their investigation. Initially, the officers contact the subject's mother, who lives in Beverly Hills, CA.

"We relay to her the events and she is in disbelief, she has never actually seen the facility and is only aware of the conditions from what is available on the Internet, which is presented in an entirely different manner than actual living conditions. After about approximately 15-20 minutes of explaining what is going on there she believes us, and at the time of our last conversation she was getting a plane ticket the next morning for Tennessee," Gullett said.

At this point, the officers began to contact all of the appropriate agencies including Adult Protective Services, Sheriff Darrell Young and the District Attorney General. A search warrant is obtained and the hospital is notified about other potential patients.

When officers returned to the address on Sycamore Creek with a search warrant for all of the premises, they discovered that the personnel was in the process of packing up and moving out. The locking mechanism was removed from the front gate.

During the search of the facility, a female patient was discovered. She was transported to Saint Thomas Stones River Hospital and parents notified.

Deputies found the building at 3343 Sycamore Creek road heavily fortified. The officers used a ram to force the door open and several boxes of evidence were discovered, cataloged, photographed and confiscated by Inspector Gullett.

Later in the day, officers discovered Hans Lytle following a search at an address on Cedar Crest Lane. He was taken into custody on multiple charges