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Judge extends order of protection for Whitney Elmore against John Keeney for six months
Summary
In Benton County General Sessions Court, Judge David D. Wolfe extended an ex parte order of protection filed by Whitney Elmore against John Keeney for six months after testimony describing alleged physical threats and incidents; the judge limited the extension to the adults’ relationship and noted juvenile court control over the children.
Benton County — Judge David D. Wolfe extended an ex parte order of protection for six months in the case of Whitney Elmore v. John Keeney after testimony about alleged threats and physical abuse.
The extension, entered after Elmore and witnesses testified, applies to contact between Elmore and Keeney and does not alter juvenile-court custody proceedings involving the couple’s children. “Court finds that there should be an extension of this order of protection, but only … I’m gonna extend it for 6 months,” Judge Wolfe said from the bench.
Why it matters: Elmore testified under oath that Keeney “physically threatened me. He put a handgun at my hand, told me he’d shoot me or shoot him,” and that she feared for her safety and that of her children. The judge emphasized that juvenile court controls custody and that the protective-order extension addresses contact between the two adults.
On the record, Elmore described repeated incidents of alleged physical and verbal abuse and said her children were frightened when Keeney raised his voice. She told the court the alleged events occurred in April before she left Ohio and that she arrived in Tennessee on May 1. Elmore said she did not object to limited contact between Keeney and the children by phone, but opposed any contact that could lead to the children being removed from Tennessee.
Keeney, who opposed the extension, testified and denied the allegations, saying the claims were false and that he believed the bruises and reports were not accurate. Witnesses called by both sides gave conflicting accounts of an altercation at a McDonald’s parking lot in which Elmore’s family and Keeney’s relatives interacted; one witness said she had recordings and described Elmore as the more aggressive party in past incidents.
The court took testimony from Elmore’s mother, Patricia LeHardo, who described traveling to remove Elmore and the children from the home and who said juvenile court currently has temporary custody of the children. The judge noted the juvenile court’s jurisdiction and explained the protective order extension would not adjudicate child custody.
Judge Wolfe ordered that Keeney “not come around or threaten or harass or have any contact with Miss Elmore other than that, which is allowed by the court regarding the visitation with your children.” The extension is for six months; the judge directed parties to obtain a copy of the order from the clerk after it is filed.
Less critical details / next steps: Juvenile-court proceedings remain active; the protective order’s limits on contact do not change juvenile-court custody determinations. The judge indicated the parties may return to court on related matters as juvenile-court orders conclude or change.
