Courts Archives - Oak Ridge Today

(For members) Five ORPD officers injured in fight with defendant

Posted at 3:46 pm January 10, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Five Oak Ridge Police Department officers were injured in a fight with a defendant on Saturday, a man was held against his will by the defendant, and officers used a Taser on the defendant more than once, police said.

The 39-year-old defendant is now charged with five counts of aggravated assault on an officer and aggravated kidnapping, among other charges.

It’s not the first time the man has been accused of assaulting a police officer. In September, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer in a previous case.

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Homicide case ends when defendant dies

Posted at 12:19 am January 5, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Christy-Duncan-Memorial-Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-May-10-2016

A vehicular homicide case that started with a fatal traffic crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue in May 2016 ended when the defendant, Vickie Gay Gilmore, died in 2018. A memorial to Christy Duncan, the woman who died in the three-vehicle crash, was set up on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A vehicular homicide case that started with a fatal traffic crash in Oak Ridge ended when the defendant died.

The case against Vickie Gay Gilmore, 64, had been pending in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. In July, another evaluation was ordered at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga. Gilmore was to be evaluated for her competency to stand trial and her mental condition at the time of the crime (the insanity defense). She had been found to be capable of adequately helping in her defense in an earlier evaluation at Moccasin Bend in 2016, but a later evaluation by a doctor produced contrary findings, according to an April 2018 order for a new competency evaluation.

The new evaluation order in July was stayed, or delayed, in September because of Gilmore’s deteriorating health and her inability to travel.

The charges against her were dismissed in a judgement dated October 9 and filed in November. [Read more…]

Updated: Woman charged with homicide in child’s death after crash

Posted at 3:07 pm January 2, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Fatal-Crash-Memorial-Lafayette-Drive-Emory-Valley-Road-Jan-15-2017-Slider

Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals for a child killed in a fatal two-vehicle crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m.

A second person has been charged with homicide in the death of a young boy in a traffic crash in Oak Ridge in January 2017.

Jason Robert Braden III, 3, died in the two-vehicle crash, which injured at least three other people and was considered a mass casualty event. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2017, at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

In March 2018, Oak Ridge Today reported that an Anderson County man, Jason Robert Braden II, 25, had been charged, after the crash, in an 11-count indictment that included vehicular homicide by intoxication. The other charges against Braden included vehicular homicide by recklessness, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon (a motor vehicle) is involved, driving under the influence, driving without a license, speeding, and violation of the child restraint law.

That case is still pending in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. The homicide and assault charges are felonies, while the driving offenses are misdemeanors.

The second person, Ashley Marie Ann Braden, 23, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on December 4. She was charged with a single felony count of criminally negligent homicide. The indictment alleged that Braden engaged in criminally negligent conduct that resulted in the death of Jason Robert Braden III. The indictment does not elaborate on the alleged facts of the case, which is typical for indictments. [Read more…]

Records: Man shot last week has history of family disputes

Posted at 1:30 am January 2, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Clinton man who was shot during a dispute with his son last week, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight, has had other disputes with family members, including another one involving a firearm, according to Anderson County court records.

In one of the previous cases, the man who was shot, Terry Lee Crawford, 61, allegedly vandalized his sister’s house with a tractor in October, also because of a floodlight, the court records said. That case is pending in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Before the alleged vandalism this year, Crawford had pleaded guilty to an assault against his sister and another victim in 2015—that case involved a firearm—and to an attempted assault against his son in 2016.

The incidents have involved three homes plus Crawford’s, all on Lee Lane in west Clinton, court records said.

Besides those cases, there is an indictment pending against Crawford for driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.

It’s not clear what charges might be filed after last week’s shooting. Crawford was taken to the hospital after the shooting. He was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Monday. But affidavits, which include specific charges and brief descriptions of alleged crimes, were not available on Tuesday.

On Thursday, the day after the shooting, the district attorney general’s office called Crawford a “danger to society” and asked that his bond be revoked or increased in two of the previous cases. The motion appears to have been successful, at least for now; Crawford’s bond has been set at $1.7 million, an unusually large bond, and he remained in custody on Tuesday night, according to Anderson County jail records.

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Man sentenced to 30 years in Oak Ridge shooting

Posted at 3:08 pm November 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

William Antwon Mollette

Note: This story was last updated at 4:45 p.m.

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to the maximum 30 years in prison in an attempted murder case as part of a plea agreement on Thursday after a shooting last year left a woman with life-threatening injuries.

William Antwon Mollette, 44, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Thursday.

Mollette, who has a prior felony conviction in Alabama, received the maximum 25 years on the attempted first-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, and he received the maximum five years on the firearm possession charge, a Class D felony. The two sentences are to be served consecutively for a total 30-year sentence.

The victim of the shooting, Cathy Griffin, was agreeable to the 30-year sentence, Tony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in Anderson County, told Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge.

Griffin read a statement in court during the plea agreement hearing. She described being shot and stalked by Mollette at a home on Walsh Lane last year, having her lungs collapse and blood stream from her abdomen, and knowing that she, a nurse, was dying. [Read more…]

Rocky Top man charged with child abuse after infant found unresponsive

Posted at 4:14 pm October 7, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Cameron Tommy Beard

A Rocky Top man has been charged with aggravated child abuse and child abuse after an infant who was reported to have a brain injury was found unresponsive on Old Lake City Highway in Anderson County in March, authorities said.

Cameron Tommy Beard, 19, was arrested by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after he was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release Friday. The indictment of Beard charged him with aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child less than eight years old, and two counts of child abuse of a child less than eight, Clark said. [Read more…]

Roane County man charged with stealing more than $250,000

Posted at 11:20 pm September 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Malbern Robert Edington

A Roane County man has been charged with the theft of more than $250,000 and knowing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, according to Anderson County court records.

Malbern Robert Edington, 37, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on August 7. He has an arraignment scheduled for Friday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

Edington, who lives in Roane County north of Oak Ridge, was arrested August 24 by John Thomas of the Oak Ridge Police Department. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday night. His bond has been set at $100,000. [Read more…]

Exclusive: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against CNS

Posted at 11:35 am September 13, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed three years ago after Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC began managing and operating the Y-12 National Security Complex and made changes to health care benefits.

The changes in benefits led to protests, mostly by retirees, near Y-12 and the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office just before they took effect January 1, 2015.

Y-12 retirees Betty Hatmaker and Charlene Edwards, who had been among the protesters, filed the lawsuit that summer. The 31-page civil complaint was filed August 12, 2015, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Hatmaker and Edwards sought to make their lawsuit a class action complaint, meaning they could have represented other plaintiffs, possibly including several thousand former Y-12 workers who retired between 1975 and 2015.

A trial had been scheduled for June 25, but the case was dismissed by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan on May 30.

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Man pleads guilty to murder in shooting in Walmart parking lot

Posted at 5:01 pm August 27, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Robert Keith Myers

Note: This story was last updated at 5:33 p.m.

A 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder Monday after a shooting in the parking lot at the Walmart in Clinton last year, and he also pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping after severely beating and shooting at a woman near Briceville, authorities said.

Robert Keith “Robbie” Myers pleaded guilty on Monday to the second-degree murder of Marshall Pinsly on April 28, 2017, and he also pleaded guilty to the attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping of Brandy Moneymaker on February 8, 2017, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The plea agreement was heard in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, Clark said in a press release.

Myers received back-to-back prison sentences of 15 years and 12 years. He has an effective sentence of 27 years, which he will serve without the possibility of parole, Clark said. [Read more…]

Knoxville man pleads guilty to reckless homicide after boy drowns

Posted at 2:28 pm August 22, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

James R. Baysinger

CLINTON—A Knoxville man pleaded guilty to reckless homicide on Friday in the death of a five-year-old boy in Anderson County about three years ago. The child was reported to have drowned after being reported missing.

James R. Baysinger, 63, pleaded guilty to the single count of reckless homicide in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday afternoon. As part of the plea deal, the state will not prosecute a second charge, aggravated child abuse or neglect when the victim, Odin Elwood Fitton, was less than eight years old.

Baysinger has a sentencing hearing scheduled for November 27.

There was no allegation in court on Friday that Baysinger intended to injure or kill Odin. Instead, the boy’s death was alleged to have resulted from recklessness.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories. Many of these stories require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

Clinton man charged with attempted murder

Posted at 12:06 am August 18, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Sidney Bruce Jarvis

Note: This story was updated at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 18.

A Clinton man was charged with attempted first-degree murder and domestic assault after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck, tossed her out of a shower, and fired a handgun at her three times, court records said.

The armed disturbance was reported on Blockhouse Valley Road in Clinton on April 3. The defendant, Sidney Bruce Jarvis, 57, has a hearing scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The April incident was the second time in two months that Jarvis was accused of assaulting the woman and firing a gun, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

After he was read his Miranda rights in April, Jarvis told Clinton Police Department Officer Austin Powell that he pulled the female victim out of the shower because she “would not stop running her mouth,” the affidavits said.

He said he fired his handgun to get her attention, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Courts: Attempted murder charges sent to grand jury after apartment shooting

Posted at 10:59 pm August 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Two attempted first-degree murder charges filed against a 20-year-old woman after a shooting in an Oak Ridge apartment parking lot in May have been sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

The charges against Kali Annabelle Bailey, whose last known address was in Powell, were bound over, or sent to, the grand jury, after a 100-minute preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, July 31. A victim and a police officer both testified during the preliminary hearing.

Bailey is accused of shooting into a Kia Optima car that had two people inside and was backed into a parking space in the Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 11:03 p.m. May 6 as part of a possible dispute between two women over a man, which was described in court as jealousy or a “love triangle.”

The rest of this story, which includes testimony that you will read about only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor.

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(For members) Five ORPD officers injured in fight with defendant

Homicide case ends when defendant dies

Updated: Woman charged with homicide in child’s death after crash

Records: Man shot last week has history of family disputes

Man sentenced to 30 years in Oak Ridge shooting

Rocky Top man charged with child abuse after infant found unresponsive

Roane County man charged with stealing more than $250,000

Exclusive: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against CNS

Man pleads guilty to murder in shooting in Walmart parking lot

Knoxville man pleads guilty to reckless homicide after boy drowns

Clinton man charged with attempted murder

Courts: Attempted murder charges sent to grand jury after apartment shooting

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