Knoxville – The Loudon County Sheriffs Department arrested a suspect wanted on multiple warrants last December, thanks to a computer program developed at the University of Tennessee.
Randy Smith of Loudon County-s Emergency 911 board contacted UT-s Systems Development Institute (SDI) for help in creating a database of phone numbers and addresses in the county.
“Sometimes in the E-911 command center, when a call comes in you get an address or a phone number, but not at the same time,” Smith said.
Smith said he spoke with Warren Wilson of the SDI, who developed a database program that combined all that information in a searchable format.
And a few days after the Loudon County E-911 center installed the program, Smith said, they helped the sheriffs department catch a woman with several arrest warrants outstanding.
“Through the program, I was able to get the phone number of a wanted individual who called 911,” Smith said. “As the phone number came up, we cross-referenced it with the correct name and address, and while we were on the phone with her, officers went to her home and arrested her.”
Wilson said he was pleased to learn that his program helped catch the suspect.
“It gives us quite a thrill to know that in this case, we were somewhat responsible in getting a wanted person off the streets,” Wilson said. “It-s good to see that we, as a state agency, are able to support a county with a serious need and no one else to turn to.”