Four young adults indicted in alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money

Four young Oak Ridge adults have been indicted in an alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money.

The alleged armed robbery occurred on Highland Avenue at about midnight April 1, 2015, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in warrants filed last year in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The victim said three men who had their faces covered robbed her at gunpoint and fled in a black Chevy sedan, the warrants said. The victim followed them north on Highland Avenue.

ORPD Officer Ray Steakley located the car at the intersection of State Route 61 and State Route 62, and he pulled over the car on Midway Road in Oliver Springs.

One of the defendants, Whitney T. Stewart, 22, of Oak Ridge, was driving, Higgins said. The other three co-defendants—Raymond R. Gray, 21; Christopher D. Ramsey, 21; and Tevin M. Springs, 20; all of Oak Ridge—were in the car, Higgins said.

The four were arrested after the alleged robbery last year and charged with aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy.

They were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 5.

In the warrants last year, Higgins said Gray and Ramsey admitted, after being read their Miranda rights, to committing the robbery.

“I also learned that all four defendants conspired together to rob a separate male subject,” Higgins said in the warrants. “However, that subject was not located, so they chose to rob the victim to obtain rent money for Whitney Stewart.”

Gray, Ramsey, and Springs were all charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and criminal conspiracy. Their indictments include similar charges: aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.

The victim’s purse was allegedly taken during the robbery, according to the indictments.

Stewart’s indictments include the robbery, assault, and conspiracy charges, as well as two more charges for driving under the influence and violation of the implied consent law.

Higgins said he immediately smelled a strong alcoholic odor coming from Stewart in the stop last year, her eyes were bloodshot and glossy, and she was belligerent. He said Stewart would not provide a blood or breath test “because she knew she was drunk,” and she said she had had five to six shots of vodka, according to the warrants.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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