Former Tennessee Republican Congressman Zach Wamp’s daughter, Coty Wamp, is accused of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, and one Hamilton County official wants the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to review the matter.
This, according to the Chattanooga-based WRCBtv.
Coty Wamp’s LinkedIn profile says she is the general counsel for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. She’s currently running for Hamilton County District Attorney to defeat incumbent District Attorney Neal Pinkston, according to her website.
Pinkston filed a request to investigate Coty Wamp last week, according to WRCBtv.
The request said authorities identified a man named Hugo Garcia Padilla as a suspect in a shooting. The Chattanooga Police Department’s SWAT team reportedly took Padilla into custody, the station reported.
“Pinkston’s request said Wamp notified the Soddy-Daisy Police Department that the wrong suspect was in custody ‘based upon her inquiry, talking to witnesses, victims, and Padilla’s employer’ who is listed as Jeff Cannon. The request says after the alleged intervention by Wamp, victims recounted their original stories, denying that Padilla is the suspect and accused Hugo Garcia Robles of being the actual suspect,” WRCBtv reported.
“The request says members of the Soddy-Daisy Police Department stated that the victims began acting strangely following their interaction with Wamp ‘and/or others on her behalf that are unknown at this time.’ The request says Wamp and Cannon attempted to interfere with the natural progression of a criminal case by asking others to set a special hearing for Padilla within 24 hours with the intention of preventing his deportation by ICE agents.”
Coty Wamp reportedly told the station that Pinkston acted only “for his own political gain” and that she did nothing wrong.
Coty Wamp was previously an assistant district attorney for the 10th Judicial District from December 2017 through July 2020, according to her LinkedIn. She graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2014.
Zach Wamp was one of several former lawmakers who last month signed a letter applauding Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY At-large District) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) for their work investigating the events of January 6, 2021.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Coty Wamp” by Coty Wamp.
