ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (WKRN) — An Ashland City man allegedly burned his cell phone and chopped it with an ax just before police confiscated it as evidence in a child porn investigation.
Authorities said 38-year-old Joshua Hamilton was booked into the Cheatham County Jail and charged with tampering with evidence and sexual exploitation of a child.
The Ashland City Police Department said they were called to the home Sunday after Hamilton’s fiancé found disturbing images on his phone.
Bodycam video obtained by News 2 captured the interaction between Hamilton, his fiancé and the officers.
“He was kind of passed out over there. I could smell alcohol on him and I kind of had the gut feeling to go through his phone and I found a bunch of little kid child pornography on his phone,” his fiancé told officers.
When police confronted Hamilton about the allegations of child porn on his phone, he told them that he had smashed it and threw it away after an argument, and denied having disturbing images on the device.
“I got mad and threw it away when I got pissed off at her, just arguing and smashed it,” Hamilton told an officer. “I didn’t throw it away for that reason.”
“So where is it? Where’d you throw it?” asked an officer.
“I don’t know,” replied Hamilton.
Investigators said Hamilton’s phone was later found in the woods by a neighbor’s house, adding the device had been burned and chopped with an ax.
Sgt. Alexis Duncan with the Ashland City Police Department said the motive was to destroy evidence of child porn on the phone.
According to Hamilton’s fiancé, the 38-year-old claimed he “was drunk and looking at porn” when the images popped up.
Duncan said the case is still under investigation, adding that it is not believed the children found on the phone are from the area.
Hamilton is being held in the Cheatham County Jail on a $60,000 bond. Authorities reported he has no prior arrests in the county and is expected to appear in court on April 2.
