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Suspect in deadly Jefferson City crash has lengthy criminal history

The man identified as a suspect in a fatal Jefferson City crash that also injured a police officer and a security officer has a lengthy criminal history that includes assault, records show.

The suspect identified in a deadly crash that also seriously injured a Jefferson City police sergeant and a Carson-Newman University security officer has a lengthy criminal history that dates to at least 2001 and includes a September theft charge, according to court officials and records.

Authorities say Kelly Lee Livesay, 35, was driving a stolen SUV with Brittany L. Brown when he crashed into a patrol car Friday night near Carson-Newman.

Sgt. Scott Winstead with Jefferson City Police and Lucas Trent, a university security officer, were badly injured in the crash, according to police.

Authorities with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Brown, a passenger in the SUV, was killed in the crash.

Livesay is currently facing a felony theft of property charge in Hamblen County from September, according to court records. He was set to appear Tuesday in court in the case.

Records state Scott Hopkins reported that someone on Sept. 17 had stolen a 2004 Yamaha dirt bike and a Honda dirt bike from behind his apartment. Three days later, a warrant states, Livesay posted a photo of the Honda dirt bike, offering it for sale for $250.

"The motorcycle can be easily identified by the photos on Facebook, compared to the photos provided by the victim by the stickers on the motorcycle that are not factory and unique to this one particular motorcycle," the warrant states.

Earlier this year, Livesay pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of a man in a Hamblen County parking lot.

According to the complaint, on Feb. 21, 2017, Livesay punched a 63-year-old man in the head in the parking lot of a drug store. Livesay approached the man "about his driving" and an argument ensued. The complaint states that Livesay assaulted the man.

In March of this year, according to the Hamblen County Sheriff's Office, a deputy found Livesay sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle at a Sulphur Springs residence. He had what was thought to be marijuana and meth, and he was charged with two drug counts.

Also, he pleaded guilty in November 2016 to assaulting an officer while in the Hamblen County Jail, records show. He admitted to a misdemeanor assault in the case and was sentenced to a jail term.

According to the complaint, on Oct. 15, 2016, while he was being held in the jail he was supposed to be moved to a new cell "for his safety." He wouldn't follow Officer William Hawkins' orders to leave the cell, according to the complaint.

He then struck Hawkins in the head with his fist, in which he was holding a piece of plastic from a jail-issued cup.

Days earlier, Livesay had been charged in Hamblen County with resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers went Oct. 9 to a home on King Avenue in Hamblen County to serve a warrant on Livesay, according to records. He was hiding in the closet and didn't want to come out, according to records.

Livesay was "taken out" of the closet and began to resist. He was handcuffed.

When authorities searched his backpack, they found "several small bags containing a white residue and cut straws in a black pouch."

In that case, Livesay pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, according to records.

Hamblen County Sheriff's Office had also posted on their Facebook page on Oct. 9, 2016 that Livesay had threatened police in a video he posted to his own Facebook.

Livesay is currently not facing charges in the deadly crash in Jefferson City.

District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn's office is investigating.

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