Two Sevier County Employees Arrested In Raid Of Courthouse

Special agents with the FBI raided the Sevier County Courthouse Thursday afternoon. An indictment filed in the United States District Court Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville alleges that Brandy M. Thornton and Roberta Lynne Webb Allen, both of Sevier County, and both of whom had the authority to register and title vehicles, accepted cash and food from Juan Lopez Gallardo and James C. Hickman. Those two men are facing federal charges regarding cocaine trafficking and stealing vehicles from Florida and then reregistering them in Tennessee using false title and registration documentation. Brandy Thornton and Roberta Allen are charged with two counts of taking cash payments in exchange for an official act. They face 20 years in prison if convicted. Karen Cotter, the Sevier County Clerk, said that her office was fully cooperating with the FBI’s investigation.