SPRING HILL MAYOR SAYS DEATH THREAT TIED TO DRUG TRADE

Williams Says He Is Determined To Rid City Of Illegal Drugs

SPRING HILL -- Mayor Ray Williams said he is serious about shutting down
the illegal drug trade in his city - no matter what.

Last week, the city condemned what it called a crack house on McLemore
Avenue after a man was shot there.

That move, along with tough talk from the mayor, apparently riled someone -
Williams said he received a death threat at his city hall office Friday.

"He said I was gonna die," Williams said, adding that the caller was "an
adult male."

"I said, 'Excuse me?' and he came back with, 'We're gonna shoot you.' Then
he hung up."

The call was so short that Williams couldn't hit the record button on his
telephone but said he did notice that the call was made from a pay telephone.

Williams reported the threat to Police Chief Reggie Pope, who had
investigator Troy Buckley contact the district attorney general's office to
request a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation inquiry.

TBI spokeswoman Jeanne Broadwell said the agency was not conducting an
investigation, "but sometimes the district attorney's office asks us to do
a little preliminary investigation and report back."

"I think that's what's happening in this case," she added.

Two TBI agents interviewed Williams and Pope yesterday afternoon, Williams
said. "They told me it was probably nothing, but just be careful," Williams
said.

The mayor said he's not taking any chances; he has a gun permit and is
carrying a gun.

"This all has to do with drugs," Williams said. "And we're not going to
stand down on our efforts to shut down the drug cartel; we want it out of
Spring Hill completely."

Williams said extra police officers, along with a special crime suppression
unit, would soon take to the streets of Spring Hill.

"We are approaching a population of 13,000," he said. "And we just have one
spot where we have a problem with drugs. So we're going to get rid of that
spot before we have a second and a third and a fourth start up. We're going
to get it stopped now."