Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen today named Officer Randal Smith the May Officer of the Month for the Knoxville Police Department. Officer Smith has been a member of the department since June 2006. 
 
Chief Owen said that on May 10, 2009, Officer Smith responded to an armed robbery call at the Smoothie King located on Kingston Pike. Officer Smith immediately separated the victim and the witnesses to the robbery and began to interview each of them separately. A physical description of the suspect and the suspect's white Ford Ranger pickup truck obtained from the witnesses was immediately dispatched to other responding officers.

Chief Owen said, "Officer Smith then began entering the suspect's description into the in-car computer database to search for possible matches. Over four hundred potential matches were returned. Officer Smith then began the pain staking process of going over each record until he came upon a likely match." 

Officer Smith called for additional officers to go with him to a residence to search for the vehicle and possible suspect. The officers located the vehicle and made contact with the potential suspect. After an investigator conducted an interview with the individual, a photo lineup was presented to the victim of the robbery. The victim immediately picked out the suspect as the person who had committed the crime.

Chief Owen said, "The next morning the suspect called the store, confessed to the robbery, apologized for his actions, and promised to bring back the money. He then called the investigator and confessed to the robbery and made arrangements to turn himself in." 

The suspect, Gregory Moore (DOB 12/21/59), was charged with one count of Aggravated Robbery.

Chief Owen said, "Officer Smith's actions, thorough investigation, patience, and his tenacity are what made the difference in this investigation." 
 
Mayor Haslam said, "Officer Smith did an outstanding job throughout the investigation. He was determined to do everything he could to locate the suspect and bring him to justice. We commend him on a job well done."