Dave Clark
Note: This story was updated at 4:10 p.m.
CLINTON—Most of the defendants indicted in two cocaine conspiracies that were announced this month pleaded not guilty during arraignments in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday, officials said.
Trial dates have already been set, Seventh District Attorney General Dave Clark said. The trial date for the defendants charged in a Knoxville conspiracy is July 2017. The trial date for those charged in an Oak Ridge conspiracy is September 2017.
Officials said there were 34 conspiracy-related arraignments scheduled for 32 defendants in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday morning.
Almost all of the defendants scheduled to appear on conspiracy-related charges on Friday were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on May 3 in two alleged plots to manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine last year. They were also indicted on charges of allegedly conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone. Each of those defendants is facing eight charges. One conspiracy allegedly involved 24 people, and the second allegedly involved 11. Two of the defendants were named in both conspiracies.
Some of the defendants are also facing more drug-related charges.
The conspiracy charges involving 300 grams or more of cocaine are Class A felonies, the most serious in Tennessee with the exception of capital murder. A first-time offender can receive a 15- to 25-year prison sentence on a Class A felony.
If convicted on a school zone violation, a defendant will have to serve 100 percent of his or her sentence.
Clark said most of the defendants entered a plea in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday morning, and all who did pleaded not guilty. He said a handful of defendants reserved a plea, meaning they didn’t plead guilty or not guilty.
A “large handful” of arraignments have been rescheduled for July 1, Clark said. A few defendants have hired an attorney but couldn’t be in court on Friday morning. The Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk’s office said six defendants want to hire their own attorney, as opposed to using a public defender.
During the arraignments, the defendants were presented with the charges against them, they entered pleas, and they were given scheduling orders, which included motion and plea deadlines, and the trial dates.
The grand jury indictments on May 3 included a total of 119 charges against 35 people in the two separate conspiracies, which allegedly occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The charges were mostly conspiracy charges. Officials said all 35 people have now been arrested.
A roundup of the cocaine conspiracy suspects started Thursday, May 5. Most of those arrested the first two days live in Oak Ridge, but eight had addresses listed in Clinton, Kingston, Knoxville, and Madisonville. The defendants ranged in age from 20-61.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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