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Defense asks for three-year suspended sentence for Cromwell

Posted at 12:12 pm June 17, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. Cromwell has been on trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton, starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Prosecutors have asked for an 11-year sentence for Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, of Oak Ridge, for his one vehicular homicide conviction and eight aggravated assault convictions in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. His defense attorney has asked for a three-year suspended sentence. Cromwell is pictured above during a three-day trial from Feb. 13-15, 2017, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. He has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Monday, June 19. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 5:20 p.m.

CLINTON—A public defender has asked for a three-year suspended sentence for Lee Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of one count of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in the fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

The three-year suspended sentence would be much less than what prosecutors have requested, an effective 11-year sentence.

Cromwell, 67, has a sentencing hearing scheduled with Senior Judge Paul Summers in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton at 1 p.m. Monday, June 19.

The July 4 fireworks crash killed James Robinson of Knoxville, a 37-year-old husband and father who was trying to push his two daughters to safety. The crash injured eight others. It’s one of the worst crashes anyone can remember in Oak Ridge.

Cromwell was convicted of the vehicular homicide and aggravated assault charges after a three-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in February. His initial sentencing hearing was postponed because Cromwell did not want private attorney James Scott representing him anymore. Anderson County Public Defender Tom Marshall has been appointed instead. Scott had previously filed a motion to withdraw from the case and then renewed it during an April 11 hearing, citing irreconcilable differences with Cromwell, according to court records.

In April, Deputy District Attorney General Anthony J. Craighead of the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County asked for the effective 11-year sentence to be served in a state prison. Craighead asked for that sentence in a notice of enhancement factors that was filed in Anderson County Criminal Court. [Read more…]

Updated: Four lawsuits filed after fatal July 4 parking lot crash

Posted at 11:30 am April 12, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured above during a hearing on lawsuits filed against Lee Cromwell, second from left, are attorneys Jason Fisher, left James Y. "Bo" Reed, second from right; and Bruce Fox. Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Cromwell, 68, an Oak Ridge resident convicted of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault for a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The hearing was Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above during a hearing on four lawsuits filed against Lee Cromwell, second from left, are attorneys Jason Fisher, left; James Y. “Bo” Reed, second from right; and Bruce Fox. Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Cromwell, 67, an Oak Ridge resident convicted in February of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The hearing on the lawsuits was Wednesday morning, April 12, 2017, in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. April 13.

CLINTON—Four lawsuits, including personal injury and wrongful death complaints, have been filed against Lee Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault in February after a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The four lawsuits seek up to about $7.5 million in damages. The amount could be larger because one of the lawsuits doesn’t specify a damage amount.

Three of the lawsuits have been settled or are pending settlement, attorney James Y. “Bo” Reed of Knoxville said in a hearing in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on Wednesday morning. Reed represents Cromwell, 67, in the civil cases.

The terms of the settlements haven’t been publicly disclosed. One of the settlements, in the case of Janicia Henderson and four children, is listed in Anderson County Criminal Court Clerk records, but it remains under seal because there are juveniles involved.

A trial date has been scheduled for October 25 in the case that hasn’t been settled or where a settlement isn’t pending. That’s a civil complaint, a personal injury lawsuit, filed by Michael Eldridge and his wife Elizabeth Eldridge of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

State asks for 11-year sentence in fatal July 4 parking lot crash

Posted at 1:58 pm April 11, 2017
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, of Oak Ridge, was convicted of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. Cromwell was convicted at the end of a three-day jury trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton, starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Prosecutors have asked for an effective 11-year sentence for the Oak Ridge man convicted of one count of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in the fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

The crash killed a father of two, James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, who was trying to push his daughters to safety, and it injured eight others. It’s one of the worst crashes anyone can remember in Oak Ridge.

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, was convicted of the vehicular homicide and aggravated assault charges after a three-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in February, and he was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. But the sentencing hearing was postponed because Cromwell did not want private attorney James Scott representing him anymore. A public defender has been appointed instead.

A new date hasn’t been set yet for the rescheduled sentencing hearing. The public defender will need time to review the case and the transcript of the three-day trial in mid-February before he or she can represent Cromwell at sentencing. [Read more…]

Jury finds Cromwell guilty of vehicular homicide, aggravated assault

Posted at 3:03 pm February 15, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. Cromwell has been on trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton, starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, of Oak Ridge, was convicted in Anderson County Criminal Court on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 a.m.

CLINTON—An Anderson County jury on Wednesday found Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, of Oak Ridge, guilty of one count of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault for killing one person and injuring eight others during a parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015.

The 12-person jury—six men and six women—unanimously returned the guilty verdicts just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. The case had been sent to the jury about four hours earlier, just before 11 a.m.

The jury verdicts came at the end of a three-day trial that started Monday morning in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Senior Judge Paul Summers heard the case because Judge Don Elledge had recused himself due to liens filed against him by Cromwell.

A sentencing hearing has been set for Cromwell for 9 a.m. April 11. [Read more…]

Fatal July 4 crash: Victim, mechanic again dispute stuck-throttle claim

Posted at 10:35 am February 15, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee-Cromwell-Trial-Paul-Summers-James-Scott-Ben-Higgins-Feb-13-2017-Web

Defense attorney James Scott, right, talks to potential jurors in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, during the homicide trial for Lee Cromwell, 67, who is accused of killing a Knoxville man and injuring others as he backed through the crowded parking lot at the Midtown Community Center after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015. Also pictured is Senior Judge Paul Summers, top left, who was appointed to hear the case after Don Elledge recused himself, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins, center front. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 6 p.m.

CLINTON—On the witness stand on Tuesday, a mechanic and victim again disputed a claim that a stuck throttle might have been the cause of a parking lot crash that killed a Knoxville man and injured other people, including children, after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015.

The two witnesses—victim Michael Eldridge and mechanic David Carey of Secret City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram—were among 15 witnesses who testified from Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon in the homicide trial of Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton.

The witnesses included victims, police officers, and the wife of the man who died as well as the couple’s two young children.

Presentation of the evidence concluded Tuesday afternoon, and closing arguments were given Wednesday morning. The case went to the 12-person jury late Wednesday morning.

Cromwell is accused of killing James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville; injuring others; and crashing into several vehicles as he backed his Dodge Ram pickup truck through the crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, after fireworks across the street at Alvin K. Bissell Park. He is facing a vehicular homicide charge and eight counts of aggravated assault. [Read more…]

Homicide trial starts for Cromwell, could last three days

Posted at 9:36 am February 13, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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The trial for Lee Cromwell, 67, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, has been set for the week that starts Monday, February 13, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—The homicide trial for Lee Harold Cromwell, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, started Monday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

The trial started with jury selection. About 115 potential jurors received instructions from Senior Judge Paul Summers on Monday morning.

A jury of 12 people and three alternates will be selected from among the 115 potential jurors.

Summers, appointed to hear the case after Judge Don Elledge recused himself because of liens filed by Cromwell, said he expects the trial to last three days, although that is not guaranteed.

The plea deadline for Cromwell was February 3.

The witnesses that are expected to testify include current and former Oak Ridge Police Department officers, victims of the crash, and Julia Robinson, the wife of James Robinson, 37, the Knoxville man who died in the crash.

[Read more…]

Trial for Cromwell, defendant in fatal July 4 parking lot crash, set for Feb. 13

Posted at 7:34 pm December 19, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The trial for Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, has been set for the week that starts Monday, February 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—The trial for Lee Harold Cromwell, the defendant in a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, has been set for the week that starts Monday, February 13, 2017.

The trial will be in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Tennessee Senior Judge Paul G. Summers has been appointed to hear the case.

Officials expect that the trial could last at least four days. The plea deadline is 5 p.m. February 3.

Cromwell, 67, is accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others when he backed his Dodge Ram pickup truck through the crowded parking lot at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at Alvin K. Bissell Park. [Read more…]

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

Posted at 9:05 pm July 26, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Police dispute stuck-throttle claim in fatal July 4 fireworks crash, widow testifies also

Posted at 1:29 pm January 15, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ben-Higgins-General-Sessions-Court-Jan-15-2016

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, during a preliminary hearing for Lee Cromwell, an Oak Ridge resident accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others during a parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 8 a.m. Jan. 16.

An Oak Ridge police officer on Friday disputed the claim that the throttle might have been stuck on a pickup truck in a fatal July 4 crash at Midtown Community Center immediately after fireworks in A.K. Bissell Park.

Police say they’ve found no evidence of a malfunction in a Dodge Ram pickup driven backward through the crowded parking lot that night by Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, and there were no active recalls on the truck that would have affected the throttle. Police also used witness statements to help refute the stuck-throttle theory during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15.

“Several of them (witnesses) said they heard his engine revving up and down,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified during the hearing. “If the throttle had been stuck, it would have been stuck at a consistent rpm, not up and down.”

Also Friday morning, Julia Robinson testified. She is the widow of the 37-year-old man who died, James Robinson of Knoxville. The couple was at the Midtown Community Center watching fireworks with their two daughters and a relative. [Read more…]

Bond reduced for Cromwell, driver in fatal parking lot crash

Posted at 4:38 pm July 28, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, right, is escorted through Anderson County General Sessions Court on Tuesday by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Derek Setzer. Cromwell has been charged with homicide and aggravated assault, among other charges, after a fatal parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. July 30.

Bond was reduced to $100,000 on Tuesday for an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 people in a parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks.

There were concerns about whether Lee Cromwell, 65, considers himself a “sovereign citizen” and denies governmental authority, and Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller reported that Cromwell was somewhat defiant at his arraignment.

Still, Miller lowered bond for Cromwell from about $205,500 to $100,000, more than cutting it in half.

Cromwell was released Tuesday evening. He is prohibited from contacting the victims. [Read more…]

Driver of pickup truck that killed one, injured nine charged with homicide

Posted at 3:37 pm July 22, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee Cromwell

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck that backed through the parking lot at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks, killing one and injuring nine, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Lee Cromwell, 65, was arrested at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Police Department without incident by patrol officers, authorities said.

Cromwell’s truck allegedly hit James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, killing him, the ORPD said after the crash.

Cromwell has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of reckless homicide, 12 counts of aggravated assault, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of driving with a license that is suspended or revoked, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

City releases IDs in parking lot crash that killed one, injured nine

Posted at 10:51 am July 6, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

One person died and nine people were injured when a Dodge Ram pickup truck backing up in the parking lot at Midtown Community Center caused a nine-vehicle crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on Saturday night.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:17 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, as the man who died in the parking lot crash that killed one person and injured nine others at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on Saturday.

Robinson was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, as Cromwell backed his truck through the parking lot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Nine people were injured, and eight vehicles were hit by Cromwell’s truck, authorities said.

Robinson was critically injured in the crash, and he was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, where he later died, the press release said.

A family friend said Robinson, who was with his wife and two daughters, died a hero by pushing his oldest daughter Jaide out of the way of the way of the approaching vehicle.

Seven more patients were taken by ambulance from the scene to local area hospitals. One adult and two juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Four juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, which is also in Knoxville. And two adults who were also injured were transported to Methodist Medical Center in personal vehicles.

Cromwell was not injured. [Read more…]