Oak Ridge Today

Two of three plotters plead guilty in murder attempt

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people accused of conspiring to kill an elderly man pleaded guilty in an Anderson County courtroom on Monday.

David Lee Suddeth, 44, and Dorothy Roxanne McFarland, 53, both pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, attempted aggravated arson, attempted aggravated kidnapping, and theft under $500. In exchange for those pleas, each was sentenced to nine years behind bars.

A third person, the alleged mastermind of the plot, 50-year-old Randolph Lane, is expected to enter a plea in this case on Wednesday. The trio was accused of plotting to kill then-73-year-old Luther Byrge—with whom they were all living—in January of 2012. Their plan was to lock Byrge inside his bedroom, disable the smoke detector, cut the phone lines, and set his house on fire while he was inside. The plan almost worked too, as the phone and smoke detector were disabled and Byrge was locked in his room, but according to testimony in court, the plan ultimately failed when the gasoline that was ignited under a bathroom sink melted the pipes and extinguished the fire. [Read more…]

Grandfather dies, granddaughter injured in ATV crash on Windrock Mountain

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A Georgia grandfather died and his granddaughter was injured when an all-terrain vehicle went over a 60-foot embankment on Windrock Mountain on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

Lindon Joald Lightsey, 68, of Baxley, Georgia, was fatally injured in the ATV crash north of Oliver Springs, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said. His 12-year-old granddaughter was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said deputies and emergency personnel were called to the crash at about 2 p.m. Saturday. [Read more…]

Driver dies, passenger escapes when car crashes into pond

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England Road Fatal Pond Crash

Rescuers call in a tow truck to pull a car out of a pond on England Road on Tuesday night. The driver of the car died in the crash, but the passenger escaped.

OLIVER SRINGS—A female driver died and a passenger escaped Tuesday night when a small car crashed into a private pond on England Road in Oliver Springs.

Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said the driver and female passenger won’t be identified until relatives have been notified.

The crash occurred sometime before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Property owner Marcia Pemberton said she came out of her house around then and heard screaming. At first, she thought it was family members playing at the dam at the pond. But then she realized these were different screams—screams for help, Pemberton said.

“Then I took off running,” she said.

The passenger was in a corner of the 18-foot-deep pond, hanging onto a tree and unable to get out because of the steep banks. There’s a car in the water, the woman told Pemberton. [Read more…]

Officers cracking down on drunk, impaired drivers on Labor Day weekend

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Drive Sober

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force this Labor Day holiday as part of the “Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over” crackdown on drunk driving, a press release said.

“This effective nationwide campaign will include high-visibility enforcement throughout Anderson County,” Sheriff Paul White said in a press release. “The ‘Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over’ campaign will focus on drunk and impaired drivers with increased enforcement.”

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will take part in this campaign by saturation patrols during the Labor Day holiday period, which runs through September 1. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign on Friday, August 29, in cooperation with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will take aim at impaired or drunk drivers throughout Anderson County in an effort to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities, White said. [Read more…]

DA: State seeks death penalty against pair accused of murder

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Norman Lee Follis Jr.

Norman Lee Follis Jr.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:50 p.m.

State officials will seek the death penalty against a pair accused in the murder of a 79-year-old man whose body was found hidden underneath an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton two years ago, authorities said.

Norman Lee Follis Jr., 50, and Tammy Sue Chapman, 46, are accused of killing Sammie J. Adams sometime between December 5, 2011, and January 24, 2012, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a Monday announcement. Adams’ body was found under a stairwell in his home after friends and neighbors reported that they hadn’t seen him in a while, Clark said.

Adams’ age—he was over 70—was an aggravating factor leading to the death penalty request, Clark said. [Read more…]

Woman escapes injury, drives away from fake officer with knife

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Anderson County Sheriff Logo

A 49-year-old woman escaped injury on Monday night when she drove away from a man who pretended to be a police officer but pulled a knife after stopping her on Yarnell Road near Clinton, authorities said.

It’s the second report of a police impersonator in Anderson County this month.

The woman was pulled over by the man at about 9:45 p.m. Monday on Yarnell Road off East Wolf Valley Road, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“He approached the victim and asked for her driver’s license,” Lucas said. “He then pulled a knife, and she immediately drove away and called 911.”

In this case, the descriptions of both the suspect and his car are different from the previous incident. The suspect in the Monday night incident was described as a white male in his mid- or late-20s to mid-30s, six feet tall, 200 pounds, clean-shaven, with a muscular build and short dark brown hair. He reportedly spoke with a soft voice. The suspect was well-dressed wearing dark civilian clothing (not a uniform) and had a badge on his belt. The victim did not see a firearm, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist dies in four-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road

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Fatal Crash on Edgemoor Road

Edgemoor Road was closed for several hours near the Bull Run Fossil Plant on Wednesday evening as authorities investigated a four-vehicle crash that killed a motorcyclist.

 

CLAXTON—A Powell motorcyclist died Wednesday afternoon in a four-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road in front of the Bull Run Fossil Plant, authorities said.

Kenneth Lubthisophon, 55, was riding east on Edgemoor Road at about 4:41 p.m. Wednesday when he hit the left rear of a car driven by a 54-year-old Knoxville woman who was slowing down for stopped traffic, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Lubthisophon’s 1989 Honda G15 was then hit from behind by a pickup truck driven by a 25-year-old Clinton man, and Lubthisophon was thrown from the motorcycle into the westbound traffic lane, where he was hit by a second pickup truck driven by a 70-year-old Clinton man, according to a preliminary THP report.

Lubthisophon was wearing a helmet, the report said. [Read more…]

Pioneer man faces vehicular homicide charge in fatal crash on Hwy 61

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Shawn Earl Wright

Shawn Earl Wright

A Pioneer man has been arrested on a half-dozen charges, including vehicular homicide, for the October death of an Oneida man in a crash on Highway 61 at the on-ramp to I-75 North in Clinton.

Christopher Strunk, 32, of Oneida, died in the fatal crash on Friday morning, October 4. The Clinton Police Department reported that Strunk was a passenger in a Honda Civic driven by Shawn Wright, now 27, of Pioneer, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported at the time.

Wright now faces six charges: vehicular homicide, criminally negligent homicide, reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and failure to stop at a red light. He was indicted by an Anderson County grand jury on August 5 and arrested Tuesday. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Aryan Nations member charged in attempted murder of Oak Ridge man

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Cameron Reid Lowry

Cameron Reid Lowry

A Powell member of the Aryan Nations gang has been charged with attempted murder in a gang-related assault on a 31-year-old Oak Ridge man in November, authorities said.

Cameron Reid Lowry, 35, of West Emory Road in Powell, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said. Lowry was arrested Saturday after he was indicted by the Anderson County grand jury, White said. Lowry’s bond has been set at $100,000.

White said the arrest is the result of an investigation that has been under way for several months and involved cooperation between the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, which includes officers from the Sheriff’s Department, and the Oak Ridge, Clinton, Lake City, and Oliver Springs police departments, as well as the District Attorney General’s Office. [Read more…]

Three die in Friday night rollover crash on Wolf Valley Road

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Three people died in a single-vehicle crash on East Wolf Valley Road in Anderson County on Friday night when the car went off the road, went airborne, rolled over, and ejected the three occupants, authorities said.

The 2004 Nissan S18 was traveling west on East Wolf Valley Road near White Oak Lane at about 11:30 p.m. Friday when it started to skid as driver Melissa A. Kelley, 44, of Knoxville, tried to go around a slight left curve, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. Kelley was driving too fast for roadway conditions, and the four-door car left the right side of the road before going airborne and rolling over, according to a preliminary report by the THP.

Kelley died. So did her two passengers, William A. Housley, 44, of Clinton, and Kurt J. Miner, 25, of Heiskell. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department seeks police impersonator who stopped driver

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Anderson County Sheriff Logo

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a police impersonator who stopped a female driver on Laurel Road near Clinton on Monday night.

The impersonator pulled over the motorist at about 10 p.m. Monday using a red flashing light on his dash but turned the light off after they stopped, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

The vehicle was described as a dark-colored late ’90s Chevrolet Lumina, Lucas said. The impersonator was described as a white male, mid-30s to mid-40s, 5’10” to 5’11”, and about 200 pounds, with a stomach that hung slightly over his belt. He had ear-length brown hair, combed to one side, balding on top of the head with a receding hairline and a graying mustache. He was wearing a white button-up shirt with dark dress pants and had a gold- or brass-colored badge on his left side and a revolver in a dark-colored soft holster on his right side. [Read more…]

Feud over food: Documents on jail menus, orders

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Paul White

Paul White

CLINTON—Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and his challenger, Anthony Lay, have had a feud over the food served at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

The feud started with a June 26 press release by Lay, a Republican challenging White, a Democrat, in the August 7 election. Lay said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department appears to be operating a bakery, and he has suggested inmates are eating cookies and cobbler, and pies and pudding.

If elected, Lay said, he would “cut the fiscal fat from the sheriff’s jail budget by cutting out the pie.”

“Jail will be a jail, not a hotel or bakery,” said Lay, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper.

A few days later, White responded in a statement that said “inaccurate and misleading information” was being circulated in the campaign for sheriff.

“The jail does not operate a ‘bakery,’” said White, who is running for his third four-year term as sheriff.

The jail menus are “quite conservative,” White said, and the average meal costs $1.10. [Read more…]