Newport Police Detective Captain Arrested For Distributing Controlled Substances And Possession Of Firearm In Furtherance Of Drug Trafficking

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- James Finley Holt, 59, of Cosby, Tenn., a detective captain with the Newport Police Department, was arrested on July 23, 2014, in Newport by agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and FBI. Holt is charged with illegal distribution of drugs and the possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

An initial appearance is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 24, 2014, in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman.

Details of these charges are outlined in the criminal complaint and supporting affidavit on file as public records in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.

In summary, the affidavit alleges that Holt was selling drugs (hydrocodone and Xanax) or exchanging drugs for what had been represented to him as stolen property. On occasions he was distributing drugs from his official Newport Police Department vehicle. On one occasion, he told an individual working on behalf of law enforcement that he was going to pick up the drugs. Agents of the TBI followed him directly to the Newport Police Department and straight back to the location where Holt delivered the drugs.

Members of the public are reminded that these are only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.