Drugs, Discrepancies & Development
COFFEE COUNTY – In the quiet hills of Coffee County, Tennessee, the sudden death of Mayor Judd Matheny in April 2024 sent shockwaves through the community. Found in the backseat of his running car in his own driveway, with cocaine and kratom in his system, the circumstances were undeniably suspicious—leaving many questions unanswered and locals grieving.
Matheny, a former State Representative turned county leader, had just weathered a stormy public controversy over a move to oust the county’s Planning Commission months earlier. The storm wasn’t over yet. We were in the process of petitioning for access to records surrounding this move when Matheny died. At that time, we believed the controversy had died with him, but some things just refused to go away.
While the full truth behind the Mayor’s passing may never be known, recent events, including an article published in the Wall Street Journal, forced us to continue our investigation not only into his death, but into what now appears to be a calculated scheme involving phantom meetings, questionable legal billings, disappearing records and potential ties to the county’s booming development landscape. As new evidence emerges, it’s time to demand answers: Was this all part of a larger play for control over Coffee County’s growth?
BACKSTORY
To understand this story, let’s backtrack to late 2023, when whispers of big developments stirred up Coffee County. Mayor Matheny pushed aggressively to oust five of the seven Planning Commission members, citing incomplete training records as justification. The move was suspect from the start: Private text messages between Matheny and Commissioner Dennis Hunt (who would later become mayor) revealed talks of dissolving the entire board and reappointing new members. Hunt advised letting the issue “die on the vine,” but Matheny pressed on, insisting on no “behind the scenes debates.” These exchanges, made public only weeks later, raised alarms about violations of Tennessee’s Sunshine Laws, which mandate transparency.
The drama unfolded in a tense November 2023 County Commission meeting, where Matheny’s behavior bordered on unhinged. He interrupted speakers, commandeered public comment time for himself (playing a recorded call in excess of two-minute limit), and even threatened to remove a citizen as she left, prompting her retort about escaping his “shady politics.” Over 100 people attended the meeting.
Public backlash was fierce, with groups like Save Coffee County TN—focused on zoning and controlled growth—rallying against the removal. In the end, commissioners voted 11-4 to strike the agenda item, maintaining the board and thwarting Matheny’s efforts.
But why was Matheny in a rush? He had the ability to appoint new commissioners in January, and it was already halfway through November. Why not wait another 45 days?
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It was no secret that Matheny was pro growth. Coffee County rests along the I-24 corridor, houses dozens of natural attractions like waterfalls, and is the home of Arnold Airforce Base. Many speculated this was about stacking the deck for favorable land-use decisions. The Wall Street Journal went so far as to tie his suspicious death directly to the internal-county conflict over land development.
At this time we received a tip to investigate the Mayor’s emails. The tip was vague, but explained that if able to obtain the Mayor’s October 2023 emails we would see that not everyone was being kept up to speed on certain issues. We submitted our request.
From November of 2023 through January of 2024 we worked tirelessly to obtain Mayor Matheny’s emails. I say tirelessly, because what should have been a simple request quickly turned into a masterclass in stonewalling. Enter Ed North, the County Attorney at the time.
First there was a random charge of $402 for which North was unable to produce an itemized breakdown. Then, there was an argument over fees to inspect records. Under the TPRA there can be NO CHARGE for an in-person inspection of public records. Once the Office of Comptroller got involved, I was finally able to inspect the records, and that’s when it became more apparent North was hiding something.
North attempted to shut down my inspection if I failed to hand over my phone to prevent me from recording. When I finally did get to review the emails, it was only the “sent” emails. Nothing from the Mayor’s inbox.
Upon review of these “sent” emails, one particular email stood out. The email referenced a confidential one-on-one meeting with the Ed North and was sent to a long list of individuals. I requested a copy of that email, so I can better review the recipients, and Ed assured me I’d get it.
That email never came. Eventually, I retained an attorney and was in the process of preparing a suit when the mayor died. That email has since disappeared. More on that in a moment.
Matheny’s passing in April 2024 seemed to bury the story. After all, there’s no need to spend money litigating to uncover the Mayor’s plan if the Mayor is dead.
Secretary of the then Planning Commission, Dennis Hunt, was named Interim Mayor and eventually took over full-time. The County Attorney, Ed North, resigned, and his billings were at the heart of the reasons behind that. All seemed well—until the “Mystery Box” surfaced.
MYSTERY BOX
Leftover papers from Mayor Matheny’s office had been boxed up and nearly forgotten. Until one day when Commissioner Joe Mike Hodge was thrust into the spotlight, accused of being at the center of an alleged conspiracy to steal the box in early 2025. This brought everything back to the forefront. Representing Commissioner Hodge in this matter was none other than Ed North. Who solicited who? We don’t know.
When the contents of this mystery box were finally revealed, the unboxing occurred in a highly publicized meeting. The box contained stacks of documents all stemming around the the Planning Commission ordeal. Everything from handwritten notes to certified mail receipts and even the folder of emails I’d reviewed more than a year prior-minus one key document.
The email for which I had previously retained an attorney to obtain, was missing from the folder. North, when asked publicly in front of everyone present at the unboxing, pointed to Heather Shelton, the records custodian.
Fortunately amongst the emails there was something I had previously missed during my tense, in-person review under North’s scrutiny. There were multiple versions of that email. Drafts and edits revealed there was more to the story.
THE REST OF THE STORY
In the lead-up to that fateful November 2023 meeting, where the Mayor had hoped to oust the Planning Commission, there was a plot brewing. The emails between Matheny, his Chief of Staff Sam Harper, and Ed North clearly outlined a plan for confidential, one-on-one meetings with individual commissioners.
The meetings were to be spaced an hour apart in order to avoid overlaps, and though initially included, it was decided the subject of the meeting would be left unspecified . There was strong emphasis on secrecy.
Hooked anew, I filed more records requests. Heather Shelton says she spent hours looking for the email, and new Mayor Dennis Hunt scoured Matheny’s archived ~31,000 emails to no avail. The final version of the email, the copy I had viewed and requested in January 2024, remained elusive. Undeterred, I decided to take a different approach and obtained North’s full billables and a few other documents.
Here’s where the discrepancies scream for scrutiny: An emailed report, updated multiple times in early November 2023, tracked these meetings. As of November 3 at 7:44 AM, only five commissioners are identified as “completed.” By 7:49 AM on November 9, ten were done, with two (Hunt & Claude) skipped. Six were unscheduled. Yet North’s invoices tell a different story.
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The itemized billables show North billed for nine one-hour meetings by November 2—already contradicting the November 3 update—and fourteen by November 9. That’s four more than documented on the emailed report.
I emailed eight of the ten commissioners listed as having “completed” their meetings. The two not emailed have since left office. Of the eight, only three responded. All denying any memory of a one-on-one confidential meeting with Ed North, ever.
With 18 commissioners total, three denied any meeting. Add in the two other individuals (Commissioner Claude who was hospitalized at the time, and Dennis Hunt who refused outright, citing advice from the state Comptroller) and the numbers just don’t add up. Even if every other commissioner had met with North, that only leaves thirteen. Where does the fourteenth meeting come in?
Now Mayor Dennis hunt was also able to provide us with the email he had received form the Comptroller at the time. It states individual commissioners shouldn’t discuss business with the attorney outside public meetings or executive sessions, as it risks violating the Open Meetings Act.
Ironically, these meetings were ostensibly about the Planning Commission’s “legitimacy” and “authority”—yet North and Matheny’s own setup reeks of impropriety.
Adding fuel: Another email shows Matheny plotting to fire the delinquent property tax attorney to “capture more revenue” for North’s role. This directly links the billables spike to Matheny’s favoritism and property issues.
As had been previously highlighted by Thunder Radio, the expenditures for legal representation had skyrocketed during North’s tenure. County budgets show the annual billables increasing from around $50,000 annually, to over $120,000 almost instantly. Just before his resignation, the projected annual expenditures were expected to exceed $160,000. Costs have since returned to normal.
So, what’s growth got to do with it? In the eighteen months since Matheny’s passing, Coffee County has seen heated debates over subdivision regulations and development projects and the future of the mega site is still open. The Wall Street Journal has even paid to promote their article linking the battle for responsible growth to the Mayor’s suspicious and untimely death. Is it a coincidence that the same concerns that fueled public outcry during the Planning Commission purge continue to come up in the community?
The TBI has refused to release any additional information other than to confirm that the case is considered closed. The provider of the narcotics that contributed to Matheny’s death remains at large, and we have reason to believe the agency is intentionally withholding other details.
REMAINING QUESTIONS
Veiled in all this secrecy, some questions demand answers.
– What happened to the email?
– How many commissioners received it?
– How many of the commissioners actually had a meeting with Ed North?
– Why were half-hour meetings billed as 1-hour meetings?
– How do you meet with 14 of 18 commissioners when at least 5 of them claim to have never had a meeting?
– Why did the legal expenses return to normal after North’s departure?
– Why would the county spend thousands (including research) to oust Planning Commissioners over a technicality?
– Who provided Matheny with the drugs?
-Who was he partaking in those drugs with that night?
– What isn’t the public being told?
And perhaps most importantly,
What does growth have to do with it all?
Was this scheme about clearing hurdles for lucrative deals, like waste sites or large subdivisions? The patterns suggest yes: Hidden emails, phantom meetings, inflated bills, and a mayor’s untimely end all point to something bigger lurking beneath the surface. Not to mention the lack of answers surrounding the Mayor’s death. While we may never tie it all together neatly, the totality of circumstances demand transparency.
Coffee County deserves better. I call on state authorities—the Comptroller, Attorney General, or TBI—to launch a formal investigation into Ed North’s billables, the missing records, and any Open Meetings violations and to PUBLICLY release the findings of all other investigations.
For his part, I reached out to North for comment. “The Bills speak for themselves” and he assures us everything is his billables is above-board and proper. His eight-minute response is embedded below.
Documents Available for Review & Download:
