Oak Ridge Today

TBI investigating death of Anderson County inmate

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Princess Wyomina Shifflett

Princess Wyomina Shifflett

 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of an Anderson County inmate last week, officials said Monday.

The TBI was asked to investigate the death of Princess Wyomina Shifflett, 58, by Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark on Thursday, officials said.

Shifflett died at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, officials said.

Shifflett had some sort of medical emergency, and emergency medical services were called to take her to a medical center, where she died, TBI spokesperson Susan Niland said in an email. [Read more…]

Woman flown to hospital by Lifestar after Norris Freeway crash

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A Heiskell woman had to be freed from a car and flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a crash on Norris Freeway on Friday evening, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 7:09 p.m. Friday on Norris Freeway near Foust Hollow Road in Anderson County, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Karen Nolan, 60, was driving north on Norris Freeway, also known as US 441, when the 2006 Buick Century went off the left side of the road, the THP said. The car traveled through a fence and down an embankment, rolling several times before coming to a stop on its driver’s side, a preliminary THP report said. [Read more…]

Crews fight fire inside former Magnet Mills; Clinton City Schools closed Friday

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Magnet Mills Fire Clinton April 7 2016

The former Magnet Mills in Clinton caught fire on Thursday evening, April 7, 2016. (Photo courtesy Philip Warfield)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. April 8.

CLINTON—Crews battled a fire inside the former Magnet Mills in Clinton on Thursday evening, and Clinton City Schools will be closed Friday, April 8.

Charles G. Seivers Boulevard was closed downtown Thursday night as crews fought the fire and prepared to remove items that were still smoldering inside.

Clinton City Schools said schools would be closed because of the fire and the roads that would be closed in the morning.

“This decision was made in an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff members,” school officials said.

The fire was reported at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday in one building at the former hosiery mill. The property includes two big, brick warehouse buildings next to CVS Pharmacy between Charles G. Seivers Boulevard and the Clinch River in downtown Clinton. [Read more…]

Two federal trials rescheduled: One for alleged bank extortion, second for federal gun charge

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to an alleged kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. A trial for one of the defendants has been rescheduled to November 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two federal trials for crimes allegedly committed in Oak Ridge, including one that involved an alleged bank extortion attempt, have been rescheduled.

The first trial had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But it has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, November 7. That trial is for Michael Anthony Benanti, 43, of Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Benanti and a co-defendant, Brian Scott Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine, had been named in a 15-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury in December. They were accused of kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton. The Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge was one of the three financial institutions that was targeted.

Witham pleaded guilty March 1. His sentencing is set for August 17. He reportedly faces a minimum 42-year prison term, but could receive a life term. [Read more…]

Warrants: Woman admits residents made meth in Tusculum Drive apartment

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Kimberly Hughes Welch

Kimberly Hughes Welch

An Oak Ridge woman who lives at an apartment raided by police on Wednesday admitted that she and a man who also lives at the home were using methamphetamine laboratory components, including chemicals and pseudoephedrine powder, to make meth there, authorities said.

Besides the chemicals and pseudoephedrine, officers also found gas generators, hoses, and what they described as bi-layer liquids, according to arrest warrants. Police described those items as meth lab components. They were allegedly found inside Apartment C at 197 Tusculum Drive during a Wednesday evening search, according to the warrants, which were filed by Simon Byrne of the Seventh District Crime Task Force.

Raynell Fountaine Hopson

Raynell Fountaine Hopson

After she was read her Miranda rights, apartment resident Kimberly Welch, 48, told police that she and Raynell Hopson, 47, who also lives in the apartment, were using the equipment to make meth, Byrne said.

Welch and Hopson have each been charged with the initiation of meth manufacturing, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the manufacture/delivery/sale of Schedule II drugs.

The alleged meth lab was within 1,000 feet of La Petite Academy on Tulsa Road, a drug-free school zone, so there could be a school zone enhancement to the charges, which would be applied at sentencing if Welch or Hopson are convicted, said Russell Barker, director of the Seventh District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]

Authorities find active meth lab on Tusculum Drive; three arrested

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Tusculum-Drive-Meth-Lab-Bust-March-30-2016-2

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory in a home on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Pictured above are three members of the 7th District Crime Task Force dressed in hazmat suits and using oxygen as they prepare to enter the back of the home. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m.

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, and three people were arrested, including two people who live at the home.

The Seventh District Crime Task Force determined the home was an active meth lab at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Director Russell Barker said. The alleged lab was inside a home at 197 Tusculum Drive, Apartment C.

Three members of the Crime Task Force first checked the home wearing hazardous materials suits and breathing oxygen. After they determined it was an active meth lab, they went back in to remove what Barker described as meth lab materials and trash left from cooking meth. Officers also found finished product, Barker said, although he didn’t have information on how much.

Officers collected the meth lab-related materials in front of the home on a blue tarp. Wearing gloves, boots, and sometimes using breathing masks with eye shields, they also placed some items in plastic five-gallon buckets.

A man and woman who live at the house were decontaminated and taken to jail in white Tyvek suits at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Barker said one of them had been inside the home but was coming out when officers arrived. [Read more…]

Three arrested after robbery reported near Clinton Tuesday morning

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Dylon James Dotson

Dylon James Dotson

Three people were arrested after a robbery was reported in a mobile home park near Clinton on Tuesday morning, authorities said. One of the three is a juvenile.

A 22-year-old Clinton man flagged down a deputy on patrol on Laurel Road near Cedar Grove Lane around 9 a.m. Tuesday to report he had been beaten and robbed by four people, three males and a female, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“The victim said he had stayed overnight with one of the males, and the next morning he was offered a ride by another man,” Lucas said. “Instead of giving him a ride, the males along with the female beat him severely and stole money, prescription narcotics, and a cell phone. He was familiar with the three men and named them as his attackers along with providing a description of their car.”

A short time later, other deputies responded to a single-car traffic crash on Old Lake City Highway and soon learned the three male suspects in the robbery were involved in the crash, Lucas said. Two of the three were arrested at the scene for charges related to the robbery. The third male was a juvenile and was taken into custody after being treated for injuries from the crash at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. [Read more…]

Armed felon arrested after vehicle, foot chase, ACSD says

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Johnny Dewayne Thomas

Johnny Dewayne Thomas

An armed Rocky Top man was arrested and is facing several charges after a short vehicle and foot chase on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies tried to stop a vehicle driven by Johnny Dewayne Thomas, 41, of Rocky Top, at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“The car attempted to evade but stopped, and Thomas ran on foot,” Lucas said. “While being chased, Thomas was seen to remove a handgun from his waistband and look back at the pursuing deputy. He then threw the gun and continued running. The deputy deployed his Taser and made the arrest without further incident.” [Read more…]

Man arrested after armed standoff outside Clinton on Friday morning

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A 30-year-old man was arrested after an armed standoff with Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies just outside Clinton on Friday morning, March 25, 2016, authorities said. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

A 30-year-old man was arrested after an armed standoff with Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies just outside Clinton on Friday morning, authorities said.

The standoff occurred on Hollingsworth Lane just outside Clinton. Deputies went to the home of Adam Jacob Daniels, 30, to serve arrest warrants from two incidents that occurred Thursday evening and earlier Friday morning, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

Daniels allegedly went to an apartment on Old Edgemoor Lane in Claxton around 9 p.m. Thursday and threatened two people with a handgun, Lucas said. He allegedly returned shortly after 3 a.m. Friday and shot through an apartment window. [Read more…]

Knoxville man dies in motorcycle crash on Old Emory in Claxton

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Old-Emory-Road-Motorcycle-Crash-March-19-2016

A Knoxville man died after he lost control of his motorcycle, struck a guardrail, and landed down an embankment on Old Emory Road in Claxton on Saturday afternoon, authorities said. The Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated the crash, which was reported at the intersection with Walnut Valley Road on Saturday afternoon, March 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAXTON—A Knoxville man died after he lost control of a motorcycle, struck a guardrail, and landed down an embankment on Old Emory Road in Claxton on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 2:21 p.m. Saturday at the intersection with Walnut Valley Road, just north of Bull Run Fossil Plant.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Peter Bolen, 52, was driving south on a 2005 Suzuki motorcycle when he lost control going around a curve and hit the guardrail. The motorcycle crossed the road and stopped in a ditch on the opposite side of the road. [Read more…]

THP investigating motorcycle crash on Old Emory Road in Claxton

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Old-Emory-Road-Motorcycle-Crash-March-19-2016

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating a motorcycle crash that was reported on Old Emory Road on Saturday afternoon, March 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7:22 p.m.

CLAXTON—The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating a motorcycle crash reported on Old Emory Road in Claxton on Saturday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 2:21 p.m. Saturday on Old Emory Road at Walnut Valley Road, just north of the Bull Run Fossil Plant.

Old Emory Road is closed at Walnut Valley Road while the THP investigates.

Besides the THP, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Claxton Fire Department, Anderson County Rescue Squad, and Anderson County Emergency Medical Services also responded.

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Three injured in two crashes on Oliver Springs Highway on Thursday

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Oliver-Springs-Highway-Crash-Pine-Ridge-Road-March-17-2016

Three people were injured in two crashes on Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow on Thursday. One vehicle overturned in the first crash, which occurred overnight, and two vehicles came close to going into a pond into the second, which happened Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Steve Newby)

 

MARLOW—Three people were injured in two crashes on Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow on Thursday.

One vehicle overturned in the first crash, which occurred overnight, and two vehicles came close to going into a pond into the second, which happened Thursday afternoon.

The first crash was reported at about 12:13 a.m. Thursday. Bobbie Lane, 47, of Clinton, was driving west in a 1999 Toyota 4Runner on Highway 61, also known as Oliver Springs Highway, when she failed to maintain control and went off the right side of the road, went over a curb, and hit a tree, which caused the vehicle to overturn, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Lane was injured, the THP said. She was not wearing a seatbelt, authorities said. [Read more…]