Oak Ridge Today

Police negotiate, but man shoots himself with shotgun after traffic stop

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m.

A 45-year-old man shot himself with a shotgun after a traffic stop on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday night and after the Oak Ridge Police Department tried to negotiate with him, authorities said.

The initial call came in at about 10:26 p.m. Tuesday, November 3. ORPD officers were dispatched to the area near the intersection of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue, after Oak Ridge Fire Department personnel reported three cars that appeared to be racing westbound from that location.

One officer stopped a 1999 Toyota pickup truck on the Oak Ridge Turnpike west of Louisiana Avenue for a speed violation, an ORPD press release said. The 45-year-old male driver, and sole occupant of the truck, exited the vehicle brandishing a 20-gauge shotgun, officers said.

The male subject then refused to comply with the officer’s repeated orders to place the weapon on the ground, and he proceeded to walk away from his vehicle while holding the barrel of the shotgun under his chin, the ORPD said. Numerous officers responded to the scene to assist in containing the male subject, who continued to pace back and forth on the sidewalk near his vehicle, the Police Department said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Turnpike closed Tuesday night as police, fire units investigate shooting incident

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Incident Nov. 3, 2015

A stretch of Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed west of Louisiana Avenue late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as police and fire units investigated a shooting incident. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:13 a.m.

A stretch of Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed west of Louisiana Avenue late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as police and fire units investigated a shooting incident.

A medical helicopter landed at Big Turtle Park in west Oak Ridge and could be seen taking off at about 11:40 p.m. Emergency workers reported a man with a gunshot wound to the face, although authorities hadn’t released details about the shooting as of early Wednesday morning. Update (9:13 a.m.): Police have since said the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

All four lanes of the divided highway remained closed until past 2 a.m. Wednesday, and the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department were both on the scene early Wednesday. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department helped provide traffic control east of the incident near United Grocery Outlet at Louisiana Avenue on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning. Most traffic was taking a side street route down West Lincoln Road. [Read more…]

Updated: Missing child alert canceled; girl found safe

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Chloe Michelle Sullivan

Chloe Michelle Sullivan

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:08 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has issued a missing child alert for a two-year-old girl who was reportedly taken from her home on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday evening update from the ORPD: The missing child alert has been canceled. Chloe has been found and is safe. Thank you to everyone who assisted and shared our post!

The ORPD said Chloe Michelle Sullivan was taken from her home in Oak Ridge at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 3. Chloe is described as a two-year old female Caucasian, two feet tall and 25 pounds, with brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink skirt and a white T-shirt with a square pattern on the front, a press release said.

Drake Sullivan, the child’s noncustodial birth father, is described as a Caucasian male, 20 years old, 5’8″ and 130 pounds, with brown hair and black eyes. He allegedly took Chloe, according to the release, and he is believed to be in the company of his father, Shane Sullivan, described as a Caucasian male, 39 years old, 6’01” and 215 pounds with brown hair and black eyes; and Shane Sullivan’s girlfriend, Jessica Meeks, Caucasian female, no further description available.

All four were last seen in a silver 2013 Chevrolet Sonic, TN license plate V2318T, and are believed to possibly be traveling to Slidell, Louisiana, the press release said. [Read more…]

Fire destroys home on West Outer Drive

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West Outer Drive Fire Oct. 31, 2015

A fire destroyed an unoccupied rental home on West Outer Drive early Saturday morning, authorities said. (Submitted photo)

 

A fire destroyed an unoccupied rental home on West Outer Drive early Saturday morning, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 4:25 a.m. Saturday, October 31, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Flames were coming through the roof of the house when the Oak Ridge Fire Department arrived, the press release said.

The city said the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire, and the cause is still under investigation. [Read more…]

Apartment resident pulled to safety during fire, treated for smoke inhalation

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East Tennessee Avenue Fire Oct. 28, 2015

An apartment resident on East Tennessee Avenue was pulled to safety and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after his food caught fire on a stove on Wednesday, October 28, authorities said.

 

An apartment resident on East Tennessee Avenue was pulled to safety and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after his food caught fire on a stove on Wednesday, October 28, authorities said.

The resident, identified as Earnest Hurd, was cooking supper when he fell asleep at approximately 10:19 p.m. Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. People passing by saw smoke coming from the apartment and called 911 dispatchers, who then dispatched the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department.

ORPD was the first to arrive and saw Hurd lying on the floor of the apartment, the press release said. ORPD opened the door and pulled the occupant to safety just as ORFD arrived. [Read more…]

Knoxville man dies after pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

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Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville, was driving westbound in this green Chevy S10 pickup truck on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, 2015, when he lost control and collided with an eastbound Ford Ranger pickup. He was treated at the scene and taken to UT Medical Center, where he later died. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m. Oct. 29.

A Knoxville man died after he was ejected from his pickup truck in a multi-vehicle crash on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the driver as Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville.

The ORPD said Gujmuit was driving west on Bethel Valley Road in a 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup when he lost control and entered the inside eastbound lane of the four-lane roadway. His truck collided with a 1996 Ford Ranger pickup driven by Kurt Marcotte, 52, of Knoxville. Gujmuit was ejected onto the roadway in the outside eastbound lane and hit by a 2003 Dodge pickup truck driven by Raymond Lenoir, 57, of Powell, authorities said.

Gujmuit and Marcotte were treated at the scene and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where Gujmuit later died, the ORPD said. Police have not determined the cause of his death. [Read more…]

Two injured, roadway closed after two-pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

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Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

A green Chevy S10 pickup truck was involved in a two-vehicle crash with injuries on Bethel Valley Road between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7:10 p.m.

Two people were taken by ambulance to the hospital after two pickup trucks crashed on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Preliminary reports said one person was trapped and one was ejected. But the nature of their injuries weren’t immediately clear.

Authorities said the road could be closed several hours between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue as officers investigate and reconstruct the crash Tuesday evening.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. It also wasn’t clear which direction the two pickup trucks were traveling when they collided. One pickup was a green Chevy S10 and the other was a blue Ford Ranger. [Read more…]

Relics of a Firefighter: Retired volunteer fireman, avid collector to lead educational event Saturday

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Relics of a Firefighter

Tom Scott, a retired volunteer fireman and avid collector, will be the guest speaker at an educational event on Saturday titled “Relics of a Firefighter.” It starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 24, at Through the Looking Glass Antiques in Jackson Square.

Scott was a volunteer firefighter in Newport, Rhode Island; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Aiken, South Carolina.

He has been a member of the Oliver Springs Fire Department since 1974.

In 1992, he became the volunteer photographer for the Oak Ridge Fire Department. [Read more…]

Clinton man charged with trespassing after crashing car at Y-12, fleeing from officers

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Timothy D. Preston

Timothy D. Preston

A 34-year-old Clinton man was charged with aggravated trespassing after allegedly driving through the east gate at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, crashing near a parking lot area, and then fleeing on foot into a heavily wooded area inside the nuclear weapons plant, authorities said.

The crash occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Thursday after a person, later identified as Timothy D. Preston, 34, of Clinton, drove through the east gate of Y-12 near Scarboro Road.

Y-12 security and Oak Ridge police officers responded immediately and established a containment area inside and outside the perimeter of the facility, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Preston was taken into custody at about 7:40 a.m. and transported to the Methodist Medical Center, where he was treated and released for minor injuries, the press release said. He was interviewed at the Oak Ridge Police Department and then transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with aggravated trespassing, trespassing by motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and driving on a revoked license (third offense). [Read more…]

Wanted after Oak Ridge shooting, Williams now faces federal gun charge

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

The Oak Ridge man wanted after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September now faces a federal firearms charge after police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car, authorities said.

Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury this month on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on October 6.

Williams, who was arrested near a South Knoxville club early Sunday, allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after the September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside.

During the hunt for Williams, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 tracked Williams to a nearby home at 612 West Outer Drive, a house that Williams shares with Chelsea Lively, 22. Inside that house, police found hand gun cases and gun magazines in plain view, according to an affidavit that accompanies a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on October 2.

They also found about two ounces of suspected heroin and roughly 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana. [Read more…]

Man wanted in Oak Ridge after shooting, crash arrested in Knox

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

Note: This story was last updated at 1:21 p.m.

A 28-year-old Oak Ridge man wanted after a September shooting and three-car crash was arrested in Knox County on Sunday, authorities said.

Authorities are waiting for Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, to be transported to Anderson County.

“We’re very, very pleased with that,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said of the arrest, “and we eagerly await his transfer to Anderson County to answer the charges.”

The specific charges haven’t been released yet.

In September, the Oak Ridge Police Department said it seized 49.2 grams of suspected heroin in a West Outer Drive house that is the home of Williams and Chelsea Reign Lively, 22.

The ORPD said it found the drugs, which also included about 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana, during a search after the September 21 shooting, which was on Wakefield Road, and three-car crash about two hours later at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive.

[Read more…]

One injured after driver allegedly runs stop sign, hits city truck, report says

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Hillside Road and Pennsylvania Avenue Crash on Oct. 16, 2015

A 22-year-old Oak Ridge man was taken by an ambulance to a Knoxville hospital after he allegedly ran a stop sign and hit a city-owned pickup truck at Hillside Road and Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, authorities said. (Photo courtesy Kevin Rice)

 

A 22-year-old Oak Ridge man was taken by ambulance to a Knoxville hospital after he allegedly ran a stop sign and hit a city-owned pickup truck on Friday, authorities said.

Nathan D. Benvenuto was driving east on Hillside Road in a 1991 GMC compact utility vehicle when he ran the stop sign at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue at about 11:26 a.m. Friday, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

Benvenuto’s vehicle collided with a 2012 Ford pickup truck owned by the City of Oak Ridge and driven by Timothy Lynn Ward, 46, also of Oak Ridge. Ward was driving southbound on Pennsylvania Avenue at the time of the crash.

“(Benvenuto’s vehicle) did not stop for the stop sign on Hillside Road at Pennsylvania Avenue and entered the intersection in front of (the pickup truck driven by Ward), which did not have time to stop and collided with (Benvenuto’s vehicle),” said the crash report, written by ORPD Officer Daniel Freytag. [Read more…]