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(For members) Five ORPD officers injured in fight with defendant

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Five Oak Ridge Police Department officers were injured in a fight with a defendant on Saturday, a man was held against his will by the defendant, and officers used a Taser on the defendant more than once, police said.

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Five Oak Ridge Police Department officers were injured in a fight with a defendant on Saturday, a man was held against his will by the defendant, and officers used a Taser on the defendant more than once, police said.

The 39-year-old defendant is now charged with five counts of aggravated assault on an officer and aggravated kidnapping, among other charges.

It’s not the first time the man has been accused of assaulting a police officer. In September, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer in a previous case.

The rest of this story, which required additional research, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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CTF finds about 10 grams of suspected heroin in second search of home

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James William Donald

James William Donald

 

Law enforcement officers found about 10 grams of suspected heroin in their second search of a home on West Outer Drive in less than two years.

The defendant, James William Donald, 71, told Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force Agent Kenneth Woods that he would “take money from other individuals for the purchase of heroin as well as provide heroin to friends that would visit his residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge in December.

The home on West Outer Drive is within about 75 feet of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, according to the warrants.

The most recent search by the Crime Task Force occurred on Thursday, December 20. The CTF had a search warrant to seize all controlled substances, the warrants said. [Read more…]

Homicide case ends when defendant dies

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Christy-Duncan-Memorial-Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-May-10-2016

A vehicular homicide case that started with a fatal traffic crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue in May 2016 ended when the defendant, Vickie Gay Gilmore, died in 2018. A memorial to Christy Duncan, the woman who died in the three-vehicle crash, was set up on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A vehicular homicide case that started with a fatal traffic crash in Oak Ridge ended when the defendant died.

The case against Vickie Gay Gilmore, 64, had been pending in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. In July, another evaluation was ordered at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga. Gilmore was to be evaluated for her competency to stand trial and her mental condition at the time of the crime (the insanity defense). She had been found to be capable of adequately helping in her defense in an earlier evaluation at Moccasin Bend in 2016, but a later evaluation by a doctor produced contrary findings, according to an April 2018 order for a new competency evaluation.

The new evaluation order in July was stayed, or delayed, in September because of Gilmore’s deteriorating health and her inability to travel.

The charges against her were dismissed in a judgement dated October 9 and filed in November. [Read more…]

Family escapes after kitchen fire spreads to attic

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An Oak Ridge family, including two children, were able to escape safely when a kitchen fire spread to an attic on Bunker Lane on Wednesday night, Jan. 2, 2019, firefighters said. (Photo by Tom Scott/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

An Oak Ridge family, including two children, were able to escape safely when a kitchen fire spread to an attic on Bunker Lane on Wednesday night, Jan. 2, 2019, firefighters said. (Photo by Tom Scott/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

An Oak Ridge family, including two children, were able to escape safely when a kitchen fire spread to an attic on Bunker Lane on Wednesday, firefighters said.

The fire was reported just after 10 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2.

The residents said they were cooking on the stove when a pan of grease caught fire, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. The residents were able to slow the spread of the fire with an extinguisher, but flames quickly extended through the stove hood and into the attic, the ORFD said. [Read more…]

Updated: Woman charged with homicide in child’s death after crash

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Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals for a child killed in a fatal two-vehicle crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

A second person has been charged with homicide in the death of a young boy in a traffic crash in Oak Ridge in January 2017.

Jason Robert Braden III, 3, died in the two-vehicle crash, which injured at least three other people and was considered a mass casualty event. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2017, at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

In March 2018, Oak Ridge Today reported that an Anderson County man, Jason Robert Braden II, 25, had been charged, after the crash, in an 11-count indictment that included vehicular homicide by intoxication. The other charges against Braden included vehicular homicide by recklessness, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon (a motor vehicle) is involved, driving under the influence, driving without a license, speeding, and violation of the child restraint law.

That case is still pending in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. The homicide and assault charges are felonies, while the driving offenses are misdemeanors.

The second person, Ashley Marie Ann Braden, 23, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on December 4. She was charged with a single felony count of criminally negligent homicide. The indictment alleged that Braden engaged in criminally negligent conduct that resulted in the death of Jason Robert Braden III. The indictment does not elaborate on the alleged facts of the case, which is typical for indictments. [Read more…]

Former AMSE building vandalized

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The former American Museum of Science and Energy building on South Tulane Avenue was recently vandalized, and it will cost the City of Oak Ridge several thousand dollars to re-secure the building, authorities said Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

The former American Museum of Science and Energy building on South Tulane Avenue was recently vandalized, and it will cost the City of Oak Ridge several thousand dollars to re-secure the building, authorities said Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

 

The former American Museum of Science and Energy building on South Tulane Avenue was recently vandalized, and it will cost the City of Oak Ridge several thousand dollars to re-secure the building, authorities said Thursday.

The vandalism was reported at about 9:19 p.m. Tuesday, when a person saw a broken window at the former AMSE, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“When officers arrived, they discovered the interior and exterior of the vacant building, which is owned by the City of Oak Ridge government, had been damaged during a recent break-in,” the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Tractor-trailer overturns with 6,500 chickens

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A truck carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue at Bethel Valley Road on Monday night, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A truck carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue at Bethel Valley Road on Monday night, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A tractor-trailer carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue on Monday night, authorities said.

Several of the holding pens broke free from the truck, and an unknown number of chickens were lost, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a statement.

The crash was reported at about 8:25 p.m. Monday at Bethel Valley Road in the lanes headed toward Knox County. The semi truck veered off the right side of the roadway and flipped, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Controlled burns scheduled in North Boundary Greenway Area

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Controlled burns are scheduled soon on part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office said it will start controlled burns of woodland areas of the Oak Ridge Reservation that are within the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement East Tract and Parcel ED-6 along North Boundary Road and Wisconsin Avenue in west Oak Ridge.

“Firebreak installation activities supporting these burns will begin in the near future, with ignitions taking place as soon thereafter as weather conditions permit and continuing through December 2018,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Man sentenced to 30 years in Oak Ridge shooting

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William Antwon Mollette

William Antwon Mollette

Note: This story was last updated at 4:45 p.m.

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to the maximum 30 years in prison in an attempted murder case as part of a plea agreement on Thursday after a shooting last year left a woman with life-threatening injuries.

William Antwon Mollette, 44, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Thursday.

Mollette, who has a prior felony conviction in Alabama, received the maximum 25 years on the attempted first-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, and he received the maximum five years on the firearm possession charge, a Class D felony. The two sentences are to be served consecutively for a total 30-year sentence.

The victim of the shooting, Cathy Griffin, was agreeable to the 30-year sentence, Tony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in Anderson County, told Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge.

Griffin read a statement in court during the plea agreement hearing. She described being shot and stalked by Mollette at a home on Walsh Lane last year, having her lungs collapse and blood stream from her abdomen, and knowing that she, a nurse, was dying. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police host ‘Ask an Officer’ on Wednesday

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The Oak Ridge Police Department will offer an educational “Ask an Officer” session focused on ways to prevent identity theft and fraud at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Wednesday, November 7, at 1 p.m.

“Join Oak Ridge Police Investigator Wendy Zolkowski for this special program sponsored by the Oak Ridge Senior Center,” a press release said. The event will be held in the B Room and is open to participants of any age. Everyone is invited to attend and learn ways to protect themselves against identity theft, the press release said. [Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to reckless homicide in death of father after argument

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William Brent James

William Brent James

 

William Brent James

A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless homicide in the death of his father after an argument in an Oak Ridge parking lot in 2014.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Temporary road closure on Wednesday for ‘Halloween House’

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A temporary road closure is planned along part of Nebraska Avenue on Wednesday for the annual “Halloween House” residential attraction, a press release said.

The temporary road closure is scheduled between 5 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, October 31, the City of Oak Ridge press release said.

A large number of visitors is expected at the “Halloween House,” and the closure is necessary to create a safer environment for drivers and pedestrians, the press release said. [Read more…]