Coty Wamp - District Attorney General, Eleventh Judicial District

Speaking at an event recently I was asked if illegal immigrants in Hamilton County are actually committing crimes like we hear on the news. Well, let me introduce you to Edwin Mendez-Perez.

Two years ago, he stabbed Rosalio “Charlie” Gomez-Gutierrez to death.

This photo is from the night of the murder. Before he stabbed Charlie to death, he was wearing this shirt (you honestly can’t make this up) at a gas station where he was buying beer. He admitted on the witness stand that he was also on crystal m**h. (And did not have a job at the time).

He’s from Guatemala and had only been here a few years before committing murder.

Rosalio, “Charlie”, had a family who loved him and they were there for him the entire trial. They received justice today when a Hamilton County Jury found Mendez-Perez guilty of first degree murder. In my office, we never forget that justice for victims is why we do what we do. We hope Charlie’s family can breathe a little deeper today.

[Keep in mind this is the SECOND first degree murder conviction of an illegal immigrant rendered by a Hamilton County Jury this year.]

Homicide Prosecutor Paul Moyle tried this case alongside brand new prosecutor (straight out of the University of Memphis School of Law) Jacob Fereday. Both did an outstanding job for Charlie and his family.

Mendez-Perez fled to Michigan after he committed the murder and was captured by the Wyoming, Michigan Police Department and Michigan State Police. They were extremely helpful to us during the investigation and we were happy to have Det. Staman of the Wyoming PD and Trooper Ibanez-Mendez of the Michigan State Police in Chattanooga this week to testify at the trial. Thank you to both agencies for their assistance.

Of course the work of the Chattanooga Police Department is what secures these convictions. Homicide Detective Marina Wilkerson did a fabulous job in preparing this case for trial.

It was a good Friday for criminal justice in Hamilton County.

Let's begin with this predator who was caught enticing young girls into sending him explicit photos of themselves. He'd then ask for more and when they wouldn't send more, he would begin to extort them by making threats of sharing the photos online. Which he did. And also sold photos of a juvenile to a foreign po*******hy site. He victimized young girls not only by preying on them but by mentally torturing them with the threats of sharing their photos.

Today he learned the hard way. Assistant DA Charlie Minor, who also works with the U.S. Attorney's Office on cases like this, indicted him in federal court. The Court sentenced him to 205 months in federal prison. That's 17 years, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Thank you Charlie and our friends over at the U.S. Attorney's Office. The partnership we have with our federal agencies is making a difference.

Statistics speak for themselves. Despite an increase in population, crime rates and total number crimes in Hamilton County were as low in 2024 as they've been in 10+ years.

Why? A lot of efforts deserve credit. But here are a few: Effective leadership. Law and order Police Chief and Sheriff. Focus on serious offenders. Prioritizing gang members, felons with guns, drug dealers, and child s*x offenders. Proper punishment for dangerous juveniles. Increase in trials. Harsher punishments.

We will keep doing our part to keep these numbers down.

Why can we not trust the media?

“Man Pleads Guilty to Starving Son to Death”

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/hixson-man-pleads-guilty-to-starving-son-to-death-and-learns-his-fate-john-hoover-jacqueline-hoover-malnutrition-disability #

Let’s talk briefly about journalism in 2025. At least two news media agencies have reported that this man pleaded guilty and received a 6 year sentence. This is entirely FALSE. My office took this man to trial on first degree felony murder several months ago. My Homicide prosecutor made no deals and no offers. In fact, we went out of our way to seek Life WITHOUT the possibility of parole. After hearing all the proof, it was a Hamilton County jury that decided on the lesser offense only. The Court then had little discretion in sentencing.

No news media outlet covered the trial and no news media outlet reached out to me to verify their story before running it.

Let’s demand higher journalistic standards.

Hixson man pleads guilty to starving disabled son to death, and learns his prison fate A man from Hixson has admitted to starving his disabled son to death in 2022, and has learned his prison fate. The victim's mother, who faces similar charges, w

Hamilton County juries have heard dozens of significant cases this year. They’ve convicted murderers, gang members, drug dealers, child rapists, child abusers, stalkers, and drunk drivers, to name a few.

But today a Hamilton County jury rendered a verdict that needs to be acknowledged. This woman- who doesn’t deserved to be named- trafficked her young granddaughter for years, from Florida to Tennessee, so that her boyfriend could s*xually abuse her.

For over 5 years, she assisted in and permitted the r**e and s*xual abuse of her own granddaughter. She watched as it happened. She joked about it. She facilitated the s*xual abuse over and over again.

There are criminals… and then there are people like this woman. The worst of the worst.

The boyfriend was convicted in federal court and was sentenced to 25 years.

Prosecutor Charlie Minor focuses a majority of his time on cases involving child victims. He is motivated by justice for children and ensuring the most vile criminals never have the opportunity to re-offend. In this case, he could have decided that the conviction for the boyfriend was good enough. He could’ve made a deal with this woman. But that’s not who Charlie Minor is. We strongly believed that the behavior of this grandmother was just as egregious as the act of r**e itself. And the jury agreed with us… on every single count. Including four counts of r**e of a child.

Our county is lucky to have Charlie Minor fighting this fight every single day. Thank you, General Minor.

Our commitment to violent crime is obvious. We convict shooters, robbers, carjackers and gang members every week. But our fight against child s*x abusers will continue to be our loudest fight. The message should be clear: stay the hell away from our children or go to prison.

This evil woman is facing 25-40 years on each count of r**e of a child and dozens of years on the other 15 counts. Our intention is that she spends the rest of her life in prison.

The Heroic Seven.

Tonight, a Hamilton County jury returned a verdict in the most profound criminal trial that I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of.

Seven young boys, who had the misfortune of being in Duane Sanders’ first grade class, took a witness stand to speak their truth. Seven young boys had the courage to look their abuser in the eye and tell a jury of 12 strangers what that monster did to them. Seven young boys marched into a courtroom full of people and became the heroes of their own story. They were articulate, kind, respectful, honest, and strong. None of them wavered. None of them hesitated. Absolutely iconic.

The parents of each of the boys had to decide whether they would allow their child to participate in the prosecution. It was left up to them. A decision that no parent ever contemplates having to make. And now there are few people that I admire more than the mothers and fathers of the heroic seven. They stuck with us for over two years. They stayed the course. They relentlessly supported their children. To their parents, thank you.

And then there are the prosecutors. The trial team poured their hearts and souls into this case for the past two years. Prosecutors Stephani Brown, Nicole Evans, and Roger Layne were successful on this case because they cared so much. They didn’t want to just try the case… they wanted to be a part of the story of the heroic seven. They wanted the boys to feel safe. They worked hard to earn the trust of each child. Prosecuting isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. Thank you, Stephani, Nicole, and Roger for caring so much about justice for the boys.

Rose Kehinde is my lead victim/witness coordinator who walked alongside the families from day one. Trial wouldn’t have been possible without the attention and care she gave to each family and each little boy. She was made to be an advocate for victims and I am so grateful for her passion.

If you know me, you know I don’t like to focus on defendants. My office works hard for victims, not defendants. But this defendant deserves a special shoutout. Duane Sanders preyed on little boys in the worst way possible. He was in a position of trust. He reeled them in. He manipulated them. He tricked them. And then he took advantage of them.

But Duane Sanders messed with the wrong little boys.

It doesn’t matter how much time, how many resources, how many hours, how many days of trial, or how many prosecutors it takes… if you prey on our kids you will find yourself exactly where Duane Sanders is tonight.

The media gets to choose which criminal cases the community hears about. We have recently tried cases that have received a lot of attention- and it’s a privilege to stand up and speak for victims, in all cases. Often, however, there are cases that no one ever hears about. Cases that the media doesn't cover. But for us, they still matter. And the victims still deserve to be remembered.

Last Thursday, a Hamilton County jury found Jose Angel Rios Ramirez guilty of first degree premeditated murder after he strangled his girlfriend, Oliva Jarquin Pena, until she died.

Oliva was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. Assistant District Attorneys Aaron Chaplin and Andrew Basler fought for Oliva as a victim of domestic violence who unfortunately was not able to fight for herself. They represented the State of Tennessee well and I am so very proud of their commitment to this case. Because of their work, Oliva did not fall through the cracks.

The defendant shouldn’t have even been in our country— much less committing violent crimes against women.

We are choosing to post a picture of Oliva, and not the defendant, because it’s her that matters.

My office sends criminals to jail and prison every single day. But in the first six months of this year, from January 1-present, we have sent over 18 defendants to prison for 10 years or more.

The defendants in the attached photos decided to commit violent crimes in our community and are paying the price. They are murderers, carjackers, robbers, drug dealers, and s*xual predators. These sentences were not achieved without a lot of effort. My prosecutors have dedicated their lives and careers to making this county safer. They bust their butts to hear a jury say “guilty’ and a judge put down a lengthy sentence. I am honored to work alongside each of them.

This list will more than double by the end of the year. In a perfect world, we’d have a community in which very few people have to see the walls of prison. But that’s not the case. TDOC needs to keep getting beds ready, especially if Hamilton County’s violent criminals keep shooting each other. - Coty

It was an honor to be chosen by CPD cadets to be the keynote speaker at their graduation a couple of weeks ago. They are are all now Chattanooga Police Department Officers and I am confident that they are prepared and ready to serve our community.

This week, East Tennessee has been reminded of the sacrifice our first responders make each day. Not too far away from us, Blount County Sheriff's Deputy Greg McCowan was shot and killed at the hands of a violent criminal during a routine traffic stop. Deputies and Officers wake up and go to work everyday not knowing what they will encounter. Our hearts are with Blount County as they prepare to lay Deputy McCowan to rest next week.