Friend turns into foe in burglaries



Friend turns into foe in burglaries | Short Mountain, burglaries, Zackhary Dixon

Zackhary "Porkchop" Dixon

By MIKE WEST/ Courier Editor

Zackhary “Porkchop” Dixon has been charged with a $17,850 burglary in the Short Mountain area.
He also faces similar charges in connection with a break-in in nearby Warren County.

Dixon’s arrest was one of several different burglary-related charges filed recently by the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department and the Woodbury Police. Dixon is a resident of Cumberland County.

“I received some information about some guns that had been stolen in Cannon County,” said Investigator Anthony Young.

The guns had been stolen by man nicknamed “Porkchop,” Young said. “His real name was Zackhary Dixon.
“At this point, myself and Investigator Brandon Gullett went to talk to one of victims of this theft,” he said.
The victims of the Cannon and Warren County burglaries were kin.

“We found out Mr. Dixon had been friends with the victims of the theft. It was told to us that when he tried to sell these guns they were in the trunk of his car,” Young said.

Young and Gullett were joined by an officer from the Warren County Sheriff’s Department in their investigation.
“We made a call to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and asked them if they could make contact with Mr. Dixon,” the investigator continued. “A short while later, myself and Investigator Gullett received a call from Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and they had stopped Mr. Dixon and he, in fact, had the guns in the trunk of his car.”

Not all of the guns were recovered. The suspect said he got afraid and discarded much of the stolen goods.

“We recovered five of the stolen guns. He stated the rest of the guns he threw over the bridge of Center Hill Lake,” Young said.

Among the discarded guns was a German World War II pistol with Nazi markings on it. That pistol was valued at $2,000. Approximately 13 pistols, long rifles and shotguns were stolen.

A safe was also stolen that contained a $5,000 Rolex watch and several valuable rings.

“Mr. Dixon was transported back to Cannon County Jail where he was booked in with charges including theft over $10,000, aggravated burglary and criminal trespassing. Theft charges in Warren County are awaiting Mr. Dixon,” Young said.

In an unrelated case, Investigator Young and Sheriff Darrell Young arrested two men on criminal trespassing charges, preventing a possible break-in.

Young and the Sheriff were on patrol on Osment Road responding to a report of a “suspicious” person in the area.

“While driving past 1346 Osment Road, we saw two individuals in the backyard, one wearing a bright green shirt,” Young said.

The officers pulled into the driveway and found one man. “We asked him what his name was. He said Ben Paschal. We asked him where the guy in the green shirt was,” Young said.

Paschal responded that the man in the green shirt had walked across a field adjacent to the back yard.

“We told him it was not possible for us to not have seen him as we drove down the driveway,” Young said.

“I asked him why they were there and they stated they were trying to get a job from the residents that lived there.”

There was no one home.

Young again asked Paschal where the other guy had gone.

This time Paschal responded, saying the guy in the green shirt had gone behind the barn.

“At this point, Sheriff Young went behind the barn to see if he could locate the other person. He found the person behind the barn hiding behind a roll of hay,” the investigator said.

The man, identified as Jeffrey Smith, was asked why he was hiding. Smith responded that there were warrants on him from Van Buren and Warren Counties.

“We then placed both individuals in handcuffs and transported them to the Cannon County Jail,” Young said.

A joint investigation by local authorities resulted in the arrest of Blake Dean Burton on multiple burglary charges including a break-in at West End Tobacco Outlet.

"Investigator Gullett of the Sheriff's Department used some online leads to find out he was selling an X-Box online. Once we found that out, we were able to recover the X-Box and a laptop computer," said Assistant Chief Lowell Womack of the Woodbury Police.

Burton, 23, was tied into at least three recent burglaries, authorities said.

The laptop was stolen on June 27 and pawned by Burton at a Murfreesboro pawn shop. The X-Box 360 was stolen on the same date along with several games.

West End Tobacco was burglarized on June 2. Taken were some $2,575 worth of cash, changed, lottery tickets and cigarettes.

The laptop and X-Box were recovered, but the missing items from West End Tobacco were not, Womack said.
Hearings on Burton’s charges are set for Aug. 20 in General Sessions Court.