Oak Ridge Today

Judge Elledge retires

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Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge is pictured above on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Seventh Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Don Elledge retired Wednesday, the end of June, after 16 years on the bench. The Seventh Judicial District is Anderson County. The Circuit Court hears both civil and criminal cases.

Elledge hadn’t aspired to be a judge, but when a vacancy opened up, he was encouraged to apply by others in the community, Tennessee Courts System said in a story about Elledge’s retirement.

“He was successful, and Governor Phil Bredesen appointed him to the bench in September 2005,” the story said. “Judge Elledge did not fully know at the time that he was about to embark on the most rewarding journey of his professional life.”

Since his appointment, Elledge has won election to the circuit court bench twice, in 2006 and in 2014. Stepping down now, a year before his term is up in 2022, was not something that he ever intended to do, Tennessee Courts said.

If it were possible, he would continue in court for another year, even at nearly 72 years old, the story said. However, health issues are forcing him to slow things down a bit and step away from the bench.

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For members: More than 1,300 suspected pills allegedly found during arrest, search

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Including a March 23 arrest and search and arrests on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near this home on Andover Circle in Oak Ridge, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

More than 1,000 pills of suspected controlled substances, three bags of suspected ketamine, pill presses, and unidentified precursor chemicals were found during a search of a home in northeast Oak Ridge last week, according to Anderson County law enforcement officers. Two people who live at the home, a man and a woman, were arrested after the search.

The search by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force on Tuesday followed an arrest near the home on Andover Circle in March, when a Knox County woman was detained on a sidewalk near the home with more than 100 pills and other suspected drugs, according to Oak Ridge police.

Including the arrest in March and search and arrests last week, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near the home, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The controlled substances included suspected stimulants and hallucinogens, and drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and pain.

Here is what officers found at the home on Andover Circle on Tuesday, according to Agent Kenneth C. Woods of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County:

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Including a March 23 arrest and search and arrests on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near this home on Andover Circle in Oak Ridge, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

More than 1,000 pills of suspected controlled substances, three bags of suspected ketamine, pill presses, and unidentified precursor chemicals were found during a search of a home in northeast Oak Ridge last week, according to Anderson County law enforcement officers. Two people who live at the home, a man and a woman, were arrested after the search.

Including a March 23 arrest and search and arrests on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near this home on Andover Circle in Oak Ridge, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

More than 1,000 pills of suspected controlled substances, three bags of suspected ketamine, pill presses, and unidentified precursor chemicals were found during a search of a home in northeast Oak Ridge last week, according to Anderson County law enforcement officers. Two people who live at the home, a man and a woman, were arrested after the search.

The search by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force on Tuesday followed an arrest near the home on Andover Circle in March, when a Knox County woman was detained on a sidewalk near the home with more than 100 pills and other suspected drugs, according to Oak Ridge police.

Including the arrest in March and search and arrests last week, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near the home, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The controlled substances included suspected stimulants and hallucinogens, and drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and pain.

Here is what officers found at the home on Andover Circle on Tuesday, according to Agent Kenneth C. Woods of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County:

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For members: Man accused of robbing gas station on Emory Valley Road

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A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.

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A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.

Arriean Latife O’Neal Kenebrew has been charged with aggravated robbery. He is accused of robbing the Bread Box food store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road at about 10:10 p.m. May 2.

A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.

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For members: Man who tried to shoot deputy sentenced to 25 years

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Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

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Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

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 contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Already charged with murder, two also charged with child rape, sexual exploitation

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge some time between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Two Oak Ridge defendants who were previously charged with first-degree murder, aggravated rape, and abuse of a corpse in the death of a 36-year-old woman have now been charged with aggravated child rape and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Sean S. Finnegan, 53, and Rebecca E. Dishman, 23, were charged last summer with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse after Jennifer Gail Paxton, 36, was allegedly tortured, raped, and strangled, and her body was allegedly cut and broken before being stuffed into a freezer in a home on East Fairview Road in Oak Ridge.

The new child rape and sexual exploitation charges followed an investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a press release from the office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark in Clinton. Finnegan and Dishman have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury, the press release said.

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Roger Miller will seek re-election as general sessions judge

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Roger Miller

Judge Roger A. Miller will seek re-election to a second eight-year term as General Sessions Court Judge, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

Miller was elected to be one of the two general sessions judges in Anderson County in 2014 after practicing law for 16 years in Clinton, a press release said.

A lifetime resident of Anderson County, Miller graduated from Clinton High School in 1980. Prior to practicing law, he served as an EMS paramedic for 13 years with the Anderson County Ambulance Service and Methodist Medical Center. Miller was the first full-time paramedic employed in the Methodist Medical Center Emergency Room in the mid-1990s, the press release said.

Miller obtained an associate degree in applied science from Roane State Community College before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences. He obtained his law degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in 1998, the press release said.

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Local attorneys remembered on memorial plaque

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Pictured above at the Memorial Plaque in the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton are, right, Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Don A. Layton and Circuit Court Clerk Rex Lynch. (Submitted photo)


Four local attorneys were added to the memorial plaque titled “In Memory of those who served Justice” at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, a press release said. The attorneys served in multiple legal professional roles during their careers, the press release said.

Robert “Bob” Stivers had a legal career of more than 50 years. He worked with Union Carbide and Martin Marietta.

W. Clark Meredith was a partner in the firm of Joyce, Anderson, and Meredith. He later practiced with the firm of Joyce, Meredith, Flitcroft and Normand.

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Governor authorizes $10,000 reward in Thomas Thrasher death investigation

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Rolling Hills Apartments Building
The Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the death of a 29-year-old man found dead in a second-floor apartment at this Rolling Hills Apartments building in Oak Ridge on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for killing Thomas Steven “T.S.” Thrasher in Oak Ridge on December 8, 2014, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Monday.

The reward was requested by Clark.

Thrasher was found dead in his home from a gunshot wound more than six years ago. He and his family lived at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive in the Rolling Hills Apartment Complex in Oak Ridge. Thrasher’s death was investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

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ORNL FCU will lease space to Anderson County Family Justice Center

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Pictured above are Melissa Miller, site coordinator for Anderson County Family Justice Center; Colin Anderson, president and chief executive officer, ORNL Federal Credit Union; and Dave Clark, district attorney general in Anderson County. (Photo courtesy ORNL FCU)

ORNL Federal Credit Union recently announced that the Anderson County Family Justice Center would lease office space in its building located on Broadway Avenue in Oak Ridge. The credit union also underwrote a number of improvements to make the space more conducive to the nonprofit’s needs, a press release said.

In July 2019, the Anderson County Family Justice Center was created by a state-funded grant aimed at helping to combat child abuse, domestic abuse, and elder abuse, the press release said. There are a total of 13 centers throughout the state. The organization’s purpose is to provide a safe, convenient location to help victims of abuse break the cycle of violence and become thriving survivors.

The Anderson County Family Justice Center partners with 15 local organizations—such as Helen Ross McNabb, YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, and the Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s office in Anderson County—to offer free and confidential resources to victims, the press release said. The types of services offered include law enforcement, mental health, legal assistance, and temporary housing.

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DA: No charges will be filed in fatal police shooting

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No criminal charges will be filed against three Oak Ridge Police Department officers after a fatal shooting on Briar Road in August, the county’s top prosecutor said Monday.

Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark released his report about the police shooting on Monday morning.

The report said that the man who died in the shooting, Fred J. Arcera, 25, was a U.S. Army veteran who had mental health problems and was reported to be suicidal—telling officers to kill him—and he had large butcher knives and had threatened officers, moving toward them with the knives that Saturday night.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the shooting, which is common after law enforcement officers fatally shoot someone.

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For members: Mason indicted on attempted murder, assault charges

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Charles Mason Preliminary Hearing July 25 2019

An Anderson County man with two homicide convictions and a 28-year prison sentence for federal drug and gun convictions has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, among other charges, after he allegedly tried to shoot a deputy in April 2019.

Charles Edward Mason, 53, was indicted on the one count of attempted first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault, and other charges in November. The other charges are two counts of interfering with a 911 call and one count of resisting arrest. Mason pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on Thursday.

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Charles Mason Preliminary Hearing July 25 2019
Charles Edward Mason, 53, has been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on one count of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of aggravated assault, among other charges. He pleaded not guilty in Anderson County Circuit Court on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Mason is pictured above during a preliminary hearing in July 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 p.m. Feb. 2.

An Anderson County man with two homicide convictions and a 28-year prison sentence for federal drug and gun convictions has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, among other charges, after he allegedly tried to shoot a deputy in April 2019.

Charles Mason Preliminary Hearing July 25 2019

An Anderson County man with two homicide convictions and a 28-year prison sentence for federal drug and gun convictions has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, among other charges, after he allegedly tried to shoot a deputy in April 2019.

Charles Edward Mason, 53, was indicted on the one count of attempted first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault, and other charges in November. The other charges are two counts of interfering with a 911 call and one count of resisting arrest. Mason pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on Thursday.

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With exceptions, Anderson County courts suspend in-person cases until January

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Anderson County courts announced on Monday that they will suspend in-person appearances and cases, with certain exceptions, starting Wednesday and continuing until early January.

The suspension of those in-person appearances and cases due to COVID-19 was announced by county judges, the district attorney general, district public defender, and child support magistrate.

The exceptions to the suspension of in-person hearings include “important emergency hearing exceptions or constitutionally-mandated processes such as the setting of bail and arraignment of those in custody,” according to a press release from the judicial officials. The courts will remain open for any constitutionally required function, and exceptions to the suspension of in-person business could include matters that are urgent or involve important rights such as personal liberty, the press release said. 

The other in-person appearances and cases will be suspended after the close of business Wednesday, December 9, through January 4, 2021.

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