Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Oak Ridge woman charged with murder in death of infant daughter in Knoxville

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Heather-Renee-Keylon

Heather Renee Keylon

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

A woman listed as an Oak Ridge resident was arrested Saturday on murder and child abuse charges for the death of her three-month-old daughter due to a drug overdose in Knoxville in April 2015, authorities said.

Heather Renee Keylon, 31, of 134 Waddell Circle in Oak Ridge, is facing charges of felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect, the Knoxville Police Department said. She was arrested Saturday and taken to the Knox County jail, where her bond has been set at $1 million.

Police responded to an unresponsive infant call at 3534 Old Valley View Drive, Apartment Number 12, in north Knoxville at about 12:39 p.m. April 21, 2015.

Keylon told police that her infant daughter, Skylar Brewer, had stopped breathing, the KPD said. The child had gone to sleep on the sofa, Keylon said, but she realized a short time later that Skylar wasn’t breathing and she called 911, authorities said. [Read more…]

Second suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots also pleads not guilty

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Michael Benanti

Michael Benanti

KNOXVILLE—A second suspect has also pleaded not guilty to three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge.

One of the suspects, Brian Witham, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday.

The second suspect, Michael Benanti, pleaded not guilty during a Friday afternoon arraignment.

Each man is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if they are convicted on all 15 federal charges that they face. The charges include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime. [Read more…]

Suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots could face mandatory minimum of 142 years in prison

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:10 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—One of the two suspects in three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if he is convicted on all 15 charges that he faces, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

Brian Witham pleaded not guilty to the 15 charges—which include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime—during a 20-minute arraignment and initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Witham

Brian Witham (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)

A trial has been set for March 29.

Witham’s alleged co-conspirator, Michael Benanti, has an initial appearance and arraignment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

The two were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 15 for plots that involved kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton, Tennessee. Benanti, 43, is from Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Witham, 45, is from Waterville, Maine. [Read more…]

Two men indicted in robbery, kidnappings at Y-12 Credit Union, SmartBank

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Michael Benanti

Michael Benanti (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)

Brian Witham

Brian Witham (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)


Note: This story was last updated at 10:37 p.m.

Two men were indicted Tuesday for plots that involved kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton, Tennessee.

The two men are Michael Benanti and Brian Witham. One is from Pennsylvania, and the other is from Maine.

The three financial institutions they targeted were Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge, SmartBank on Advantage Place in Knoxville, and Northeast Community Credit Union on Jason Witten Way in Elizabethton.

The indictment of Benanti and Witham by a federal grand jury for the armed bank extortions was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. You can read the 15-count indictment, which also includes charges of carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, here. [Read more…]

TBI Top 10 fugitive captured; missing child recovered

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Tyler Ward Enix

Tyler Ward Enix

A Knoxville man who was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive list Thursday morning was captured in Ohio, just hours after being added to the list, authorities said.

Tyler Ward Enix, 36, who is the father of the subject of an Amber Alert issued Wednesday, was captured Thursday morning in a rural area of Morrow County, Ohio, the TBI said. A citizen had heard the Amber Alert on the radio and realized he was behind the vehicle referenced in the alert. The citizen called 911 and deputies with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office responded and initiated a traffic stop, the TBI said. Enix was taken into custody without incident. His 2-year-old daughter Brooklynne was recovered and is safe. [Read more…]

TBI issues Amber Alert for missing child; mother found dead, father charged with murder

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Brooklynne Enix

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is asking for help finding a missing two-year-old girl whose mother was found dead earlier today (Wednesday, October 28) in her Knoxville home.

The child, Brooklynne Enix, is described as three feet tall and about 38 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. The TBI has issued a statewide Amber Alert.

The TBI said Brooklynne may be in the company of her biological father, 36-year-old Tyler Ward Enix, who is 6’2″, 205 pounds and is bald with blue eyes. A warrant was issued Wednesday night charging Enix with first-degree murder, the TBI said. [Read more…]

Suspect in Powell bank robbery arrested in Clinton

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A 36-year-old man was arrested in Clinton on Tuesday, just hours after a bank robbery was reported at Home Federal Bank at 105 East Emory Road in Powell at about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Christopher Michael Miller was arrested later Tuesday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the bank robbery but hasn’t yet specified the charges against Miller.

Authorities in Anderson County received an alert after the Tuesday afternoon robbery. The suspect reportedly turned onto Heiskell Road, which runs from Knox County into Anderson County, and officers and deputies began looking for the suspect vehicle. The Clinton Police Department made the traffic stop, and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department assisted. [Read more…]

FBI describes vehicle spotted near SmartBank kidnapping, extortion

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Early 2000s Ford Taurus

An early 2000s Ford Taurus is pictured above. (Image provided by FBI)

 

Authorities have released a description of the vehicle associated with the person of interest sought in the July kidnapping and extortion at SmartBank in Knoxville, an incident that is believed to be connected to a similar one at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April.

The vehicle is described as an early 2000s, powder blue/grey, Ford Taurus, with damage on the front passenger side bumper, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a Wednesday morning press release.

The person of interest was observed in the front passenger seat of this vehicle on July 1 in the vicinity of Swathmore Court and Dunwoody Drive in Knoxville.

The vehicle pictured in the photo above is of a similar make, model, and color of the vehicle that was observed, the FBI said. [Read more…]

Powell man arrested after SunTrust bank robbery, FBI says

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A Powell man was arrested after an armed bank robbery was reported at the SunTrust Bank at 6632 Clinton Highway in Knoxville on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

Michael James Ward, 43, of Powell, was arrested in Knox County without incident through the joint efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, composed of the FBI, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the KPD Violent Crimes Unit.  KCSO patrol officers also assisted with the arrest, a press release said. [Read more…]

FBI: Even small tips could help catch extortion, kidnapping suspects

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FBI Press Conference Composite Sketches Extortion, Kidnapping

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—Two men entered two different homes in kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July, and a woman, possibly with an infant or a toddler, might have entered the first, officials said Wednesday.

A blue four-door car was spotted in the area of the second home about a week before the second incident, said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville.

It’s possible there could be a fourth person involved, and it’s not clear if the suspects are still in the area.

Reinhold said both men were wearing disguises. The woman was not, but she might have been wearing a wig and sunglasses. [Read more…]

FBI releases composite sketches in kidnappings, extortions at Y-12 FCU, SmartBank

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FBI Press Conference Composite Sketches Extortion, Kidnapping

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday released composite sketches on two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July.

See descriptions of the three below.

Here is the FBI press release:

[Read more…]