A Cannon County woman accused of trying to gain $2,500 from a man in exchange for preventing her from posting pictures of him on the Internet was charged with extortion Monday. Valerie Layne Smitty, 36, of 205 Hayes St. in Woodbury was charged with extortion of the 60-year-old Rutherford County man by Detective Scott Tillman.

Smitty sent a text to the man last Friday stating if the man didn’t give her the $2,500, she would post the pictures online, Tillman said. The man contacted the sheriff’s office. Tillman arrested the woman Monday at Wal-Mart on Rutherford Boulevard in the company of her two children and two of their friends, who were all pre-teens. Relatives of the children picked them up while Tillman interviewed Smitty. She was charged with the felony crime and booked into Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. She was released on $2,500 bond. A hearing is set Nov. 8 in General Sessions Court.