Violent sex offender arrested after church reports theft, city says

Oak Ridge police officers arrested a violent sex offender after a church alleged that he stole mail, officials said Friday.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was dispatched to the Heritage Fellowship Church on North Illinois Avenue at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday to respond to a report of mail theft, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

ORPD Sergeant Robert Pitts located the suspect, Gregory Scott Tyree, 48, of Oak Ridge fleeing westbound on Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, the press release said. Pitts also recovered evidence along Robertsville Road across from Robertsville Middle School with the help of the pastor who witnessed the theft and followed the suspect, the release said.

Tyree was arrested and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton for misdemeanor theft.

But further investigation found that Tyree is a registered violent sex offender from a 1994 conviction for aggravated rape and sexual battery, the press release said.

The Heritage Fellowship Church facility, from where it is alleged Tyree stole mail, includes a day care center with a plainly visible playground, the release said. Tyree was in violation of the statue by being on the grounds of a licensed day care center or other child care facility, it said.

On Wednesday, an additional charge of felony violation of the sex offender registry law was placed on Tyree by Officer Ben Haines at the Anderson County jail. Tyree remains in custody awaiting arraignment for his charges, and the investigation remains ongoing, the release said.