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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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County EMS, Ashley Marie Ann Braden, Bond, City of Oak Ridge, crash, criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence, driving without a license, Dustin Sheehy, Emory Valley Road, homicide, indictment, Jason Robert Braden II, Jason Robert Braden III, Joshua Selvidge, Justyn Braden, Lafayette Drive, Melissa Denny, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, speeding, traffic crash, University of Tennessee Medical Center, vehicular homicide, vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide by recklessness, violation of the child restraint law

Records: Man shot last week has history of family disputes

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

A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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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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.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Courts, Front Page News, Police, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, assault, Brad Kidwell, Clinton, Clinton Police Department, driving under the influence, felon in possession of a weapon, Lee Lane, Mark Pack, reckless endangerment, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, shooting, Terry Lee Crawford, Vaughn Becker, violation of probation

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

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, attempted first-degree murder, attempted murder, Cathy Griffin, Don Elledge, Marvell Moore, Oak Ridge Police Department, plea agreement, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony, Tom Marshall, Tony Craighead, University of Tennessee Medical Center, UT Medical Center, William Antwon Mollette

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

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated child abuse, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Cameron Tommy Beard, child abuse, Dave Clark, James Crowley, Russell Barker

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

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County grand jury, Charles Stuber, John Thomas, knowing abuse neglect or exploitation, Malbern Robert Edington, Oak Ridge Police Department, theft of more than $250000

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

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Brandy Moneymaker, Marshall Pinsly, Robert "Robbie" Myers, Robert Keith Myers, second-degree murder, shooting

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

James R. Baysinger

 

James R. Baysinger

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.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

  • Monthly subscription ($10 per month)
  • Yearly subscription ($100 per year)
  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

Please let us know if you advertise on Oak Ridge Today, have recently contributed, or subscribe through PayPal or check payments, but you have not yet been added to our website as a member. You can send an email to john.huotari@oakridgetoday.com to be added. Thank you!

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.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated child abuse or neglect, Anderson County, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Anthony J. Craighead, Don Elledge, James R. Baysinger, Joseph Fanduzz, Mark Lucas, reckless homicide, sentencing hearing, Seventh Judicial District

Clinton man charged with attempted murder

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

Sidney Bruce Jarvis

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, armed disturbance, attempted first-degree murder, Austin Powell, Clinton Police Department, domestic assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, Sidney Bruce Jarvis

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

Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

Kali Annabelle Bailey

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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  • Yearly subscription ($100 per year)
  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

Please let us know if you advertise on Oak Ridge Today, have recently contributed, or subscribe through PayPal or check payments, but you have not yet been added to our website as a member. You can send an email to john.huotari@oakridgetoday.com to be added. Thank you!

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.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, attempted first-degree murder, attempted tampering with evidence, Bailee D. Bolden, Becky A. Bell, Brian Gilliam, Christopher Wallace, criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, Kali Annabelle Bailey, Kevin Angel, Manhattan Apartments, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, preliminary hearing, reckless endangerment, Roger Miller, Seth M. Davis, Seventh Judicial District, shooting, solicitation of tampering with evidence

Appeals court upholds Applewood warrants, board’s order to vacate

Posted at 4:14 am August 1, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The site of former Applewood Apartments buildings, which have been demolished, is pictured above at Hillside Road and East Hunter Circle on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The site of former Applewood Apartments buildings, which have been demolished, is pictured above at Hillside Road and East Hunter Circle on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s not clear if it will make much difference now, but a state appeals court has upheld administrative warrants used by the City of Oak Ridge for inspections at Applewood Apartments and a city board order that had once called for vacating and demolishing six of the buildings.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville issued its opinion on Tuesday, July 24.

Joe Levitt, the owner of the former 13-building apartment complex on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle, had appealed a September 2016 order of the Anderson County Chancery Court in Clinton. That court, where M. Nichole Cantrell is chancellor, had granted summary judgement to the City of Oak Ridge, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, and former codes enforcement supervisor Denny Boss. Levitt, who has battled the city for years, had sought to overturn an Oak Ridge order that the six Applewood Apartment buildings be vacated and demolished.

Inspections conducted with the help of Corum Engineering in 2009 had found multiple code violations and structural deficiencies at the six buildings, including cracks in foundations, damaged and rotten floor joists, and evidence of wood-destroying insect activity, as well as dead animals and animal feces in the basement and crawl space, and excessive debris, lack of smoke detectors, plumbing leaks, and damaged roofing materials, among other issues, according to last week’s opinion. Unless the defects were corrected, the 2009 engineering report said, the top floors of the buildings could collapse because of a lack of structural support, according to the opinion. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, Courts, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Top Stories Tagged With: administrative warrants, Anderson County Chancery Court, Applewood Apartments, Brian R. Bibb, City of Oak Ridge, Corum Engineering, D. Michael Swiney, Dan R. Pilkington, demolition order, Denny Boss, Joe Levitt, John W. McClarty, M. Nichole Cantrell, Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals, opinion, Tennessee Court of Appeals, W. Neal McBrayer

Criminal case pending against man accused of crashing into school playground

Posted at 12:15 pm July 30, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Charles Eric Harmon

Charles Eric Harmon

 

A criminal case is pending against a Claxton man who was allegedly intoxicated when he crashed through a chain link fence into a playground at an elementary school in Clinton and almost hit two officers with three school-aged children, Anderson County court records said.

Charles Eric Harmon, 59, had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his breath and person,” and he told officers he was intoxicated and had “shot up heroin” earlier in the day and shouldn’t have been driving, Clinton Police Department Sergeant Scott Gregory said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Harmon has been charged with driving under the influence and five felony counts of reckless endangerment.

The crash was reported on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at Clinton Elementary School on North Hicks Street. Harmon has a pre-trial conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, July 30, 2018, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Affidavits filed by Gregory after the crash in October said a vehicle driven by Harmon had traveled through a chain link fence into the Clinton Elementary School playground and uphill into a tree. The Clinton Police Department and Clinton Fire Department both responded. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, Charles Eric Harmon, Clinton Elementary School, Clinton Police Department, crash, driving under the influence, Michael Ritter, reckless endangerment, school playground, Scott Gregory

Woman sentenced to 10 years, $50,000 restitution on meth charges

Posted at 11:25 am July 29, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kimberly Hughes Welch

Kimberly Hughes Welch

 

CLINTON—A Knoxville woman received a 10-year sentence and was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution after pleading guilty Friday to a methamphetamine manufacturing charge following a raid at an apartment in Oak Ridge two years ago.

The meth lab raid occurred at an apartment on Tusculum Drive in central Oak Ridge on March 30, 2016. Agents found an active meth lab and items used to make meth, according to a property forfeiture affidavit filed by Russell Barker, who was director of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County. The raid followed an undercover or covert narcotics investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine.

Kimberly Hughes Welch, 51, pleaded guilty to four charges related to the raid in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday. Three are felonies, and one is a misdemeanor. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, initiation of methamphetamine manufacturing, Kimberly Hughes Welch, meth lab, meth lab raid, methamphetamine, methamphetamine manufacturing, possession with methamphetamine with the intent to sell, promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, Raynell Hopson, Russell Barker, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force

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