Oak Ridge Today

Police allegedly find pills, meth, marijuana, cash, ammo

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Samuel McCoy Wade

Samuel McCoy Wade

A police search of a home on Marion Road on Friday found pills, methamphetamine, marijuana, cash, and ammunition, authorities said.

The home at 102 Marion Road was searched by the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force and Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT team on Friday, September 8, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

During a search of the home, officers, who had a search warrant, found two bags containing about 34.7 grams of methamphetamine, about one pound of marijuana in various bags, and a bag of pills that included five alprazolam, five methylphenidate hydrochloride, and 19 two-milligram Xanax pills, the affidavits said.

Police also found cash, drug paraphernalia, a sealed bag of marijuana, .380 ammunition, and a Mercedes C20 car reportedly purchased with money from drug sales, according to the affidavits. [Read more…]

Anderson County man charged with attempted murder

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Jason Bradley Braden

Jason Bradley Braden

 

An Anderson County man was charged with attempted first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, and carjacking, among other charges, in indictments filed September 5.

Jason Bradley Braden, 28, of Longmire Road, is also facing theft, burglary, and trespassing charges.

The indictments said Braden intentionally tried to kill Marietta Banks on August 12, and he seriously injured her during the assault. Braden also assaulted Melissa Byrge, seriously injuring her, the indictments said.

The assaults were committed while Braden was displaying a crowbar and a knife, according to the indictments.

It’s not clear from the indictments if the alleged assaults occurred at the same time. [Read more…]

Anderson County EMS sending ambulance, two employees to help with Hurricane Irma

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Anderson County EMS Paramedic Michael Rhinehart, left, and AEMT Justin Harmon left on Friday morning, Sept. 8, 2017, to help respond to Hurricane Irma in Florida. (Photo courtesy Nathan Sweet/Anderson County EMS)

Anderson County EMS Paramedic Michael Rhinehart, left, and AEMT Justin Harmon departed on Friday morning, Sept. 8, 2017, to help respond to Hurricane Irma in Florida. (Photo courtesy Nathan Sweet/Anderson County EMS)

 

An emergency medical services region in East Tennessee that includes Anderson County is sending a strike force of five ambulances and one command vehicle to Florida to help respond to Hurricane Irma.

The ambulances, crews, and command vehicle are from a 16-county region known as Region 2 in Tennessee, said Nathan Sweet, director of Anderson County EMS.

Anderson County EMS is sending one ambulance and two employees. The two employees are Paramedic Michael Rhinehart and AEMT Justin Harmon. (An AEMT is an advanced emergency medical technician.)

Rhinehart and Harmon left at 8:45 a.m. Friday, and they headed to Lenoir City to meet up with the strike force. From there, they are going to Chattanooga to meet up with a strike force from Region 1. It’s not clear yet where they will be deployed. [Read more…]

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department warns of scam

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents of a new scam where someone is misrepresenting themselves as an Anderson County Sheriff’s deputy. Calls have been made from “Deputy James Marshall” from telephone number (865) 909-7996, and this person is asking that prepaid cards be obtained to pay for fines or take care of arrest warrants, a press release said.

“Please be aware law enforcement agencies, court clerk’s offices, or other government organizations do not make calls such as this and ask for debit or prepaid card numbers,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said in the press release.

If Anderson County residents receive such calls, they should notify the Sheriff’s Department at (865) 457-2414 or their local police department.

Updated: Runaway juvenile located

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Kendrick Cranmore

Kendrick Cranmore

This story was updated at 7 p.m.

A juvenile reported as a runaway on Wednesday has been located, authorities said.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Kendrick Cranmore has been located and returned to his mother.

“Our thanks to the Loudon Police Department for their assistance,” the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday evening.

A white 2004 Toyota Tacoma pickup that was taken from his mother’s home had been located early Wednesday morning in Monroe County on Orr Road near the Loudon County line, and Cranmore was believed to be in the area of Anderson, Loudon, or Monroe County, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said earlier Wednesday.

Dave Clark the featured speaker at next Neighborhood Watch meeting

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The next Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program meeting will feature Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark as guest speaker, an event notice said.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 5, in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater. Everyone is invited to attend, the notice said.

Clark will talk about how the District Attorney’s Office handles cases involving Oak Ridge and Anderson County, the event notice said. He will also take questions from the audience.

“We have had several related questions at earlier meetings, so take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about how criminal cases are handled in our area,” the notice said. “If you have specific questions for General Clark, please submit them…in advance so he can prepare a response. We have a rare opportunity to talk directly to our district attorney.” [Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault

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Deshon Marquece Meadow

Deshon Marquece Meadow

An Oak Ridge man accused of pointing a handgun at a group of people and pulling the trigger multiple times in April 2015 pleaded guilty on Thursday to a reduced charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter and six counts of aggravated assault, according to Anderson County court records.

Deshon Marquece Meadow, 22, was pointing a handgun at a group of people, including victim Traiquan Graves, when Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Tim Nguyen responded to a report of shots fired on Utica Circle on April 6, 2015, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

A witness said she saw Meadow point the handgun in their direction and pull the trigger multiple times, Nguyen said in the affidavits.

“The victim’s fear was evident when he backed up and took cover as the defendant tried to fire the weapon at him,” the affidavits said.

“Under Miranda, the defendant stated: ‘I couldn’t let him do me like that anymore. I went back to my house, got my gun, and pointed at them and told them to back off!'” the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Anderson County resident accidentally shoots brother

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An Anderson County resident accidentally shot his brother with a bullet that ricocheted inside a home on Pine Ridge Road in Marlow, authorities said.

The accidental shooting was reported on August 9. The brothers, who are adults, were interviewed at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

The report said the shooting occurred when one of the brothers, Dakota Mardis, was getting ready to clean a .22-caliber rifle that had been given to him and his brother, Dylan Cannon, by their parents. Mardis unloaded the rifle and then pulled the trigger, Cannon told Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Matthew P. Landis, according to the report.

“Dylan stated the rifle went off and a bullet ricocheted off a cinder block and hit him in the face near the left eye,” the report said. [Read more…]

DA: Man accused of shooting into Throttle Down convicted of reckless endangerment

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Gordon Scott Katz

Gordon Scott Katz

 

An Oak Ridge man who had been accused of shooting into the former Throttle Down Tavern while the business was occupied in July 2015 was convicted of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon after a jury trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Thursday, authorities said.

A jury of 12 Anderson County residents found Gordon Scott Katz, 45, guilty after the one-day trial on Thursday and about 45 minutes of deliberation, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release on Friday.

Katz is scheduled to be sentenced October 9 by Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge, Clark said.

Witnesses testified that Katz and a companion had been asked to leave the Throttle Down Tavern on Warehouse Road on July 26, 2015, before Katz was accused of firing shots into it, Clark said. [Read more…]

Man indicted in alleged backpage.com robbery in Claxton

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Richard Paul Pressley

Richard Pressley

A Knoxville man was indicted last month on robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges for his role in an alleged robbery at gunpoint in Claxton in 2016 that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Richard Pressley, 31, has been indicted on charges of aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping using a weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping. He was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on July 11.

The alleged robbery and kidnapping occurred in a mobile home on Queen Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road in Claxton on May 21, 2016, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release after Pressley and his wife, Lindsay Pressley, were arrested last year.

Affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on May 23, 2016, said the alleged victim, Cody Monroe, traveled from Athens to the address provided in the backpage.com ad. Monroe “made small talk” with the female, later identified as Lindsay Pressley, for about five minutes when a man brandishing a handgun, later identified as Richard Pressley, entered the living room and ordered Monroe onto the ground, according to the affidavits. [Read more…]

Inmate injured in jump from second floor at Anderson County jail

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Brian Seeber

Brian Seeber

An inmate had life-threatening injuries after jumping from the second-floor tier in a housing unit at the Anderson County jail in an apparent suicide attempt on Thursday morning, authorities said.

Brian Jeffery Seeber, 42, of Oliver Springs, was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by an Anderson County EMS ambulance, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. Seeber’s injuries were life-threatening, Lucas said. His current condition was not immediately available.

Seeber was arrested in June on seven counts of rape and four counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.

The apparent suicide attempt by Seeber was reported at about 6 a.m. Thursday at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Driver, passenger arrested after car allegedly flees from THP, strikes two patrol units

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Two Knoxville residents face charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, among other charges, after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and crashing into state and county patrol cars in Rocky Top on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The initial pursuit by THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd started on State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) at Longmire Road in east Clinton, near the Clinch River, according to a preliminary THP report. It continued onto northbound US 25 W (Lake City Highway), headed toward Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

After passing through Rocky Top, the chase headed north on SR 116 into Campbell County before looping back into Rocky Top, traveling down Cherry Bottom Road and Oak Grove Road before taking US 441 (Norris Freeway) back into the city, according to a narrative in the THP report and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

After the car, a 1992 Honda Accord, passed under Interstate 75, it tried to make a left turn onto Sunshine Drive in Rocky Top, the report said. But it was unable to complete the turn and the car struck a concrete curb, busting its left front tire, the report said. [Read more…]