A man in Johnson City, Tennessee, has been cited after law enforcement found an illegal moonshine operation.
Officials cited 36-year-old Jeremy Stines in the case and WCYB reported Monday that a tip led authorities to discover the operation that was apparently located inside a barn.
In a social media post, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office of Tennessee (WCSO) noted Stines was cited for manufacture of alcoholic beverages, possession of a still, and unlawful storage of liquor for sale.
The sheriff’s office continued:
Upon receiving the tip, Investigators conducted a premise check in the 200 block of Highridge Road. It was disclosed by Stines that there was in fact a still in the yard barn at the east end of the property, and verbal consent was given by Stines to search the building. The liquor manufacturing equipment, along with 81 quarts of product, were seized transported to WCSO.
According to Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-707, it is unlawful for any person to have possession or control of any still or other apparatus, or part of a still or other apparatus to be used for the purpose of manufacturing intoxicating liquor as prohibited by law. Possession of a Still is a Class B misdemeanor.
Manufacture of Alcoholic Beverages and Unlawful Storage of Liquor for Sale are both Class A misdemeanors.
Stines is scheduled to appear in court on March 5 regarding the case.
Images the sheriff’s office posted show the suspect and the items in question stacked on a table:
WCSO INVESTIGATORS CONFISCATE STILL, MOONSHINE IN JOHNSON CITYJONESBOROUGH – A tip submitted to the Washington County…
Posted by Washington County Sheriff's Office – TN on Monday, January 29, 2024
The word moonshine usually refers to “illicitly distilled liquor,” the Britannica website noted, adding, “The word is derived from the notion of the liquor being made and distributed at night, under cover of darkness.”
“Makers of moonshine are called moonshiners. Moonshine most commonly denotes clear, unaged whiskey that was made at home with a corn (maize) base and a high alcohol content during Prohibition in the United States,” it continued.
In 2013, Florida detectives nabbed three men in Haines City regarding another moonshine case, ABC Action News reported at the time:
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “As long as I’ve been with the sheriff’s office, this is only like the fourth still we’ve busted up,” adding, “Some call it white lightning. We call it a trip to the county jail.”
