Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County sheriff warns of telephone scams

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Paul White

Paul White

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is putting out a warning about a telephone scam that is again circulating in Knox County. The caller pretends to be a sheriff’s deputy or court official and says that the person has an outstanding warrant, didn’t report for jury duty, or has a failure to appear, and that it can be taken care of with a certain amount of money. He then says the money can be transferred to the caller with a Greet Dot card, prepaid credit card, or to meet and bring the “cash bond.”

This same scam occurred earlier in the year in our area, including Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said. So far, no new cases have been reported in Anderson County, but the scam appears to target residents in all of our area counties. [Read more…]

Driver stable with minor injuries after car rolls, hits tree

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oliver Springs Highway Crash

The male driver of this Ford Taurus was stable with minor injuries after going off Oliver Springs Highway, rolling down a drop-off, and hitting a large tree, authorities said. The driver had to be extricated and was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

Rescuers had to extricate the male driver of a car that rolled down a drop-off alongside Oliver Springs Highway and hit a large tree Tuesday morning, and the man was in stable condition with minor injuries, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 6:50 a.m. Tuesday on Oliver Springs Highway near Bill Key Lane.

The Ford Taurus was headed toward Oliver Springs when it rolled a few times down a 10- to 15-foot drop-off alongside the highway, said Stephanie Fox, assistant chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department. The car stopped when it hit a large tree, she said. [Read more…]

More than $4,000 worth of tobacco stolen in Edgemoor Road burglary

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Marathon Gas Station on Edgemoor Road

More than $4,000 worth of tobacco was stolen from this Marathon gas station on Edgemoor Road in a Tuesday morning burglary, authorities said.

 

Marathon Gas Station Door After Burglary

Video footage from the store’s security system showed an unidentified man using what appeared to be a crowbar to break this glass door before entering the store and putting cigarettes and smokeless tobacco into a bag, authorities said.

More than $4,000 worth of tobacco was stolen from a gas station in a burglary on Edgemoor Road early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The burglary at the Marathon gas station and store at 1060 Edgemoor Road occurred just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to store owner Sunil Patel of Oak Ridge.

Video footage from the store’s security system shows a white man of medium build using what appears to be a crowbar to break the glass on a front door before entering the store, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Michael A. Poole said in an incident report. The unidentified man then went behind the counter and placed cigarettes and cans of smokeless tobacco into a bag, Poole said. [Read more…]

Sheriff reminds Thanksgiving travelers to buckle up

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Buckle Up America Logo

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is joining in a national effort to reach out to all Thanksgiving travelers with one important message: Buckle up.

Historically, Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time of the year, putting more people on the road, and unfortunately increasing the likelihood of crashes, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a press release.

Each year in the United States, tens of thousands of passenger vehicle occupants die in motor vehicle crashes. In 2012, more than 300 people were killed in crashes on Thanksgiving weekend alone. It’s a sad statistic, but even sadder is that many of those deaths could have been prevented with one simple click of a seat belt, White said. [Read more…]

Five arrested after shots fired into Claxton home, marijuana found

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Kevin Scott Garner

Kevin Scott Garner

Five people were arrested early Sunday morning after deputies responded to a report of shots fired into an occupied home in Claxton, authorities said. They said deputies were helped by a series of anonymous 911 calls from a Powell man who was found with the Knoxville man alleged to have been the shooter.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said dispatchers began receiving anonymous 911 calls from a cell phone around 5 a.m. Sunday, reporting a shooting into a residence at 120 East Circle. However, the calls were not coming from the actual residence. Some 30 calls were made over the next several minutes, White said.

Deputies responded to the East Circle home and, when they arrived, spoke with a person on the front porch who initially gave a false name and false information about what happened. Another person was found hiding in the back yard. A third person was inside the residence.

Bullet holes were found in the front of the house. No one was injured. [Read more…]

Grandson charged with aggravated robbery after alleged knifepoint theft

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Joseph Tyler Collins

Joseph Tyler Collins

The 18-year-old Anderson County man accused of robbing his grandfather with the help of a second man armed with a knife was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

Joseph Tyler Collins has been charged with aggravated robbery and is being held in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. Collins’ bond has been set at $75,000.

Collins’ grandfather, Genis Hawkins, reported that he was robbed at knifepoint by his grandson and the second unidentified man, who was wearing a green rag over his face and holding a 15-inch-long knife, on November 20. Collins was arrested at a Clinton home on Tuesday afternoon.

Lucas said Sheriff’s Department investigators are still working to identify the others involved in the robbery. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department investigates fire that destroyed empty Briceville home

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a Saturday night fire that destroyed an empty house in Briceville that had been the target of thieves, authorities said.

The fire at 230 Brown Flats Lane was reported at about 11:36 p.m. Saturday.

John L. Brown, the victim, who lives at a separate address on Brown Flats Lane, said the empty house was his parents’ old home, and there have recently been several thefts there, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Joshua A. Humphrey said in an incident report. In one of those thefts, someone stole all the copper, and there was no electricity at the home, Brown told Humphrey. [Read more…]

Sheriff offers holiday crime prevention tips

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Paul White

Paul White

Many people can become victims of burglary, theft, and other crimes during the holidays, and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has released crime prevention tips.

In a press release, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said the department hopes to help residents have safe and fun holidays.

Shopping

[Read more…]

Woman, dog escape, but house burns in Thursday fire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Holbrook Lane House Fire

A woman and her dog escaped with no injuries from this house fire on Holbrook Lane between Oak Ridge and Clinton on Wednesday evening, but the home was heavily damaged and possibly destroyed. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:50 p.m. Nov. 21 with a possible cause of the fire.

A woman and her dog escaped a raging house fire on Holbrook Lane on Thursday evening, but the home was heavily damaged and possibly destroyed. It was the third house fire between Oak Ridge and Clinton in less than two weeks, and the second in two days.

Flames were shooting through the roof of the hilltop home at 309 Holbrook Lane when firefighters arrived, said Stephanie Fox, assistant chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department. Thick smoke billowed high into the air, and a dark plume could be seen as far away as Oak Ridge. Firefighters battled the blaze using what is known as a defensive attack, meaning they didn’t go inside.

Fox said the homeowner, whose identity wasn’t immediately available, was downstairs when the fire started. She heard glass break and went upstairs and saw flames, Fox said. The woman, estimated to be in her 50s, went back downstairs to get her dog and exited the house through the door of the walk-out basement. She was not taken to the hospital and was going to stay with relatives overnight, Fox said. [Read more…]

Grandfather reports robbery by grandson, knife-wielding suspect

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County Sheriff Logo

An Anderson County man told deputies he was robbed at knifepoint Wednesday night by his grandson and a second man wearing a green rag over his face and holding a 15-inch-long knife, authorities said.

Deputies responded to a reported robbery in progress on Clear Branch Road, south of Rocky Top, at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, resident Genis Hawkins told them he had answered a knock at the door and opened it for his grandson, who asked if he could use Hawkins’ phone. Hawkins said he left the door open and went to get the phone from his pants pocket.

But then his grandson and the armed man entered the home, Hawkins said. The armed man allegedly held the knife to Hawkins’ stomach area and told Hawkins he would “gut him,” according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report. [Read more…]

Woman dies after trying to save pets from house fire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ridge Lane Firefighters

Firefighters battle a blaze at a Ridge Lane home on Wednesday. A woman who tried to save her pets from the fire died overnight. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Nov. 23.

The 65-year-old woman who was burned and seriously injured while trying to save three pets from a house fire on Wednesday afternoon died overnight at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, authorities said.

Martha Babb Bailey and Adra Denton of Oak Ridge had arrived at Bailey’s home at 131 Ridge Lane around 3 p.m. Wednesday after grocery shopping. When they opened the front door, the house, which is in Orchard Knob subdivision in Anderson County, burst into flames. Denton called 911 to report the fire, and Bailey ran into the burning home to try to rescue two dogs and a cat, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

But Bailey’s clothes caught fire, and she collapsed in the living room, White said. Denton was unable to reach her and called 911 again to say her friend was trapped in the burning single-story home. [Read more…]

Rescuers pull woman from house fire after she tries to save pets

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Ridge Lane Home Fire

Two Anderson County deputies and a Marlow firefighter pulled a seriously injured woman out of this home, which was on fire on Ridge Lane on Wednesday afternoon. The woman had reportedly tried to rescue her pets from the fire. At right is Steve Newby, deputy chief of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department, and at left is Marlow Volunteer Fire Department Captain Zach Pressnell, who helped pull the homeowner from the burning home.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:25 p.m. Nov. 20.

Two Anderson County deputies and a Marlow firefighter rescued a woman who was seriously injured trying to rescue her pets from a house fire on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The woman, who has not been identified, was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge and then flown by Lifestar helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. Her condition and age weren’t immediately available.

The woman was pulled out of the burning home at 131 Ridge Lane by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Wiley Maloney, Reserve Deputy Gene Rose, and Marlow Volunteer Fire Department Captain Zach Pressnell. Pressnell said the woman was conscious but lay on the floor about five feet inside the single-story home, with fire rolling out of the front door and heavy smoke inside. [Read more…]