Oak Ridge Today

Judge to discuss Juvenile Court, school truancy

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Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brian Hunt

Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brian J. Hunt will present a program about the court’s approach to truancy issues in Anderson County schools, including Oak Ridge, on Monday, October 28.

The presentation will be during the general meeting of AAUW (American Association of University Women) at First Presbyterian Church, Room 122 at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Hunt’s talk will begin shortly after noon, with a luncheon catered by The Soup Kitchen being served at 11:30 a.m., a press release said. Reservations for the luncheon are $8.50 and may be made by calling Mary Uziel at (865) 483-1043. A choice of soups and sandwiches will be available, with desserts and iced tea and coffee. Those attending who want to bring a sack lunch or not have lunch are asked to make a reservation to ensure adequate seating for the program, the press release said.

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Coria appointed district public defender

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Ann Coria has been appointed public defender in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County.

A Republican, Coria replaces Tom Marshall, a Democrat who was re-elected to a fourth eight-year term in 2014. Marshall, who had served as Anderson County public defender since 1989, retired at the end of September.

Coria, who has been an assistant public defender and worked in the office for about 20 years, applied for the position. After an interview process and background check, she was appointed district public defender by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday, October 15.

“I believe that I have the skills to run the office and the knowledge of what’s needed,” Coria said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It is a unique set of skills.”

There will be a special election in 2020 to choose someone who will serve the last two years of Marshall’s eight-year term and a regular election for an eight-year term in 2022.

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Warrants: Police find about three ounces of suspected meth

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Otis Kevin Aslinger
Otis Kevin Aslinger

Two men have been charged with a Class A felony drug crime after police allegedly found about three ounces of suspected methamphetamine during a search of a vehicle in Oak Ridge in August, according to court records.

Warrants filed in the case said the vehicle, a pickup truck, was searched after agents of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force and officers of the Oak Ridge Police Department conducted surveillance along South Illinois Avenue at about 6 p.m. Monday, August 5.

“A black Chevrolet step-side pickup truck was observed pulling into the parking lot of Big Lots (at) 250 South Illinois Avenue,” the warrants said. “The female driver of the vehicle parked while a male passenger exited and got into the passenger side of a newer model Ford F-150 pickup.”

Agents identified both the driver of the F-150 and the passenger, according to the warrants, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by CTF Agent S. Perry Lewis.

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For members: Man sentenced to 14 years after taking van from woman in wheelchair

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Bradley Allan Thomas

CLINTON—A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year.

Bradley Allan Thomas, 31, received a 12-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. He will be required to serve 85 percent of that sentence before he could be eligible for a parole hearing. Authorities had alleged that Thomas pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

Bradley Allan Thomas

 

A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year. Authorities had alleged that the man pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

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Anderson County man arrested after search allegedly finds meth, heroin

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Steven Arthur Seiber
Steven Arthur Seiber

An Anderson County man has been charged with five drug-related crimes after a search of a home near Rocky Top in February found large amounts of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, and other drugs.

Steven Arthur Seiber, 30, has been charged with manufacturing, delivering, or selling a Schedule II controlled substance: 300 grams or more of methamphetamine. That’s a Class A felony in Tennessee.

Affidavits, which include short narratives describing alleged crimes, said the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County found about 18 bags (roughly 18 ounces) of suspected crystal methamphetamine in the master bedroom of a home on Andys Ridge Road during a search Wednesday night, February 13. (There are 28.35 grams per ounce.)

Agents also found about 21 bags (roughly 21 grams) of suspected heroin in the master bedroom, according to the affidavits, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by CTF Director Simon Byrne.

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For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder

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McKinley Earl McGee, 51, of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above at right, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. At left is defense attorney Curtis Isabell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said.

Before he was sentenced Monday, McKinley Earl McGee, 51, had been convicted after a one-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in July. At the end of that trial, the 12-person jury deliberated for about one hour before finding McGee guilty of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault that resulted in serious bodily injury.

 
Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019

An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said.

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Two charged with conspiracy after 45 grams of meth allegedly found in motel room

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William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

An Oak Ridge man and woman are facing drug and conspiracy charges after 45.1 grams of methamphetamine were allegedly found in a motel room on South Illinois Avenue in May, according to court records.

Charged in the case are William Michael Renfro, 18, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22.

Carlie Alise Wisman
Carlie Alise Wisman

A black backpack with 45.1 grams of methamphetamine was found in a room at Days Inn on May 7, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Adam Fairbanks.

Video from a surveillance camera showed Renfro entering the motel room with the black backpack, and another video showed him leaving the room without the backpack, Fairbanks wrote in the affidavits. Affidavits are narrative descriptions of alleged crimes that are attached to arrest warrants.

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Oak Ridge man charged with murder in drug death

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Ronald Nicholas Bunch
Ronald Nicholas Bunch

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with second-degree murder in the drug-related death of another Oak Ridge man in February.

It could be the first time that anyone has been charged with murder, rather than homicide, for a drug-related fatality in Anderson County. There has been a previous case where a man was charged with and convicted of homicide in a drug overdose death.

The man who died on February 6 was Steven Douglas Scruggs, 34.

Indicted in his death was Ronald Nicholas Bunch, 28, of West Wadsworth Circle in Oak Ridge. Bunch’s indictment for second-degree murder on June 4 said he unlawfully and knowingly killed Scruggs through the unlawful distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance, and the drug caused Scruggs’ death. Second-degree murder is a Class A felony in Tennessee.

The charge of second-degree murder, part of a three-count indictment, doesn’t specifically say what drug killed Scruggs. But the second count of the indictment charged Bunch with possessing fentanyl, a Schedule II medication, for resale.

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Man receives 2-year suspended sentence in drug overdose death

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Mike-Ritter-Troy-Venable-Aug-26-2019
Troy Andrew Venable, 30, right, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, after a drug and alcohol overdose killed Lauren Alexandra Fritts, 26, in Oak Ridge on October 8, 2016. At left is defense attorney Mike Ritter. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 5:20 p.m. Aug. 27.

CLINTON—A 30-year-old man received a two-year suspended sentence Monday when he pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide after a drug and alcohol overdose in October 2016 killed a 26-year-old employee of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and former goalkeeper for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team.

The two-year sentence for Troy Andrew Venable was suspended with credit for time served in jail (about four hours), and he was placed on supervised probation during a 15-minute plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday. Venable is to undergo a drug and alcohol assessment. He was also ordered to pay $1,850.50 in court costs.

Lauren Fritts

The overdose killed Lauren Alexandra Fritts, 26, on Saturday, October 8, 2016. She had consumed alcohol, crushed and inhaled 60 milligram roxycodone pills with her boyfriend, Paul Mize, and drank at a bar before using heroin supplied by Venable sometime after midnight—after Fritts and Mize got into an argument, according to alleged facts read in court on Monday.

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Free expungement, driver’s license clinic on Saturday

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The Anderson County Bar Association and NAACP are hosting a free Expungement and Driver’s License Assistance Clinic in Clinton on Saturday.

An expungement is a court order removing an eligible criminal charge or conviction from a person’s record.

The expungement clinic is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, August 24, at the First Baptist Church at 225 North Main Street in Clinton.

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For members: Judge finds probable cause in attempted murder of deputy

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Charles Mason Preliminary Hearing July 25 2019
One count of attempted first-degree murder and five aggravated assault charges filed against Charles Edward Mason, 52, of Anderson County, were sent to the grand jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Thursday, July 25, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—One charge of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of aggravated assault, among other charges, were sent to the grand jury after a two-hour preliminary hearing in July for an Anderson County man accused of pointing a revolver at two deputies and pulling the trigger two or three times.

The defendant, Charles Edward Mason, 52, had faced 24 charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, and weapons and drug charges, among other violations. Eleven charges were sent to the grand jury, although it is possible that the grand jury could consider the charges that have been dismissed.

Charles Mason Preliminary Hearing July 25 2019

One count of attempted first-degree murder and five aggravated assault charges filed against Charles Edward Mason, 52, of Anderson County, were sent to the grand jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Thursday, July 25, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—One charge of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of aggravated assault, among other charges, were sent to the grand jury after a two-hour preliminary hearing in July for an Anderson County man accused of pointing a revolver at two deputies and pulling the trigger two or three times.

The defendant, Charles Edward Mason, 52, had faced 24 charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, and weapons and drug charges, among other violations. Eleven charges were sent to the grand jury, although it is possible that the grand jury could consider the charges that have been dismissed.

Mason, who unsuccessfully sought to represent himself during the hearing, has a violent crime history. He has previously pleaded guilty to two homicides, one in Knox County, Kentucky, in 1994 and the other in Anderson County, Tennessee, in 2010.

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Man charged with assault, DUI after allegedly hitting vehicle with pregnant woman inside

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Bobby Lindsay
Bobby Lindsay

A Clinton man has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault and driving under the influence after allegedly running a red light, hitting a vehicle with a pregnant woman inside, and then fleeing from the crash, according to court records.

The crash left the pregnant woman trapped and unable to talk to police officers because of her injuries, court records said. She was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

The Clinton man driving the first vehicle, Bobby Lindsay, 48, has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault, DUI, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving on a revoked license (fourth offense), failure to use due care, leaving the scene of an accident, and violation of the financial responsibility law.

Affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton said a witness saw the vehicle driven by Lindsay run a red light in Clinton on April 18 and hit the vehicle with the pregnant woman inside, leaving the woman trapped. Lindsay then jumped out of the first vehicle and ran off, the witness said.

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