Oak Ridge Today

DA’s office also recused from July 4 fatal crash case because of liens filed by defendant

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Anderson County Criminal Court Lee Cromwell Jim Scott July 25 2016

Lee Cromwell, right, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and 16 other charges after a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015, huddles with his family and defense attorney James Scott, left, after an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, July 25, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:47 a.m. July 27.

CLINTON—First the judge recused himself and now the district attorney general’s office has been recused in a homicide case filed against an Oak Ridge man after a fatal crash in the crowded parking lot of Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

Both recusals were because of liens filed by the defendant, Lee Harold Cromwell, 66. The recusals mean another judge has already been appointed, and another DA will have to be appointed. A lien is a claim that one person owes something to another person.

Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge recused himself during a June 3 arraignment because of an $8 million lien filed against him by Cromwell.

“It was upsetting that he filed a frivolous lien against me,” Elledge said Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can legally, morally, and ethically to prosecute him criminally and civilly to the full extent of the law.”

Then, during a rescheduled arraignment on Monday, defense attorney James K. Scott asked for Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark and the DA’s office to also be recused. That was because of liens that Cromwell filed against the DA and another member of his office in “misplaced mindset” in a “misguided effort, out of desperation, to advocate for his innocence without the knowledge or advice of counsel,” Scott said in a motion to recuse. [Read more…]

Maine man pleads guilty to murder charge in OS drug deal that ended in death

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Scott-Benjamin-Pike-Nov 21-2014

Scott Benjamin Pike (November 2014 photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A 32-year-old Maine man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of an Oliver Springs man after a drug deal in May 2011.

Scott Benjamin Pike, of Lewiston, Maine, entered the guilty pleas in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday, January 29.

Pike received a 20-year sentence on the second-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, and a 12-year sentence on the aggravated robbery charge, a Class B felony. There is no probation on either count, according to court records. The sentences will run concurrently. He will receive credit for time served.

Pike was indicted on a first-degree murder charge on February 7, 2012, by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Also indicted were Ronny Blake Hamrick of Oliver Springs and Tristin Jane Dayon of Lewiston, Maine. A first-degree murder charge could include a premeditated killing or an unlawful death that occurred during a robbery or attempted robbery, according to the indictments. [Read more…]

Man sentenced to 30 years for possessing heroin for sale in school zone

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Charles Randolph Johnson

Charles Randolph Johnson

A man convicted in September of possessing heroin and marijuana for sale in a school zone has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, authorities said.

Charles Randolph Johnson was sentenced by Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge on Monday, November 30, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

Johnson, a Michigan native, was convicted by a jury on September 18. He was found guilty of possessing heroin with the intent to sell it within 1,000 feet of a school, possessing marijuana with the intent to sell it, and possessing drug paraphernalia, Clark said.

Authorities said Johnson possessed a large amount of heroin and marijuana inside a mobile home near Claxton Elementary School. He was arrested on January 31 when a search warrant was executed after a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, and the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]

So far, five candidates for juvenile judge, four for sheriff, three for chancellor

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

So far, there are five potential candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, four for sheriff, and three for chancellor.

An independent has picked up a petition to run for county mayor, possibly opposing Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan has an opponent in the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

The five candidates for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge are Victoria “Vickie” Bannach, a Clinton Republican; Lauren Biloski, an Oak Ridge Republican; Victoria Bowling, a Heiskell Democrat; J. Michael Clement, a Clinton Democrat; and Brian J. Hunt, a Clinton Republican. They are candidates in the May 6 county primary.

The current juvenile court judge, Brandon Fisher, a Clinton Democrat, is running for Anderson County chancellor in that election. The other two chancellor candidates are Phil Harber, a Clinton Republican, and Robert Warren Wilkinson, an Oak Ridge Republican. [Read more…]

Green ruled competent to stand trial in 2011 shooting

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Information from WYSH Radio

The man accused in the fatal shooting of a Clinton pawn shop employee in November of 2011 has been ruled competent to stand trial.

James Allen Green, 65, is accused of shooting 59-year-old Larry Snellings after asking to see a gun at the South Clinton Pawn Shop. When Snellings handed him the gun, Green allegedly loaded it and shot him. [Read more…]