Oak Ridge Today

Suspect arrested in GameStop robbery, Walmart theft

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Ernest James Glenn

Ernest James Glenn

Oak Ridge police have arrested a Knoxville man who is suspected of grabbing a Playstation 4 from an employee on GameStop on August 9 before fleeing, and stealing a computer from Walmart on July 28 by going out a fire door in the lawn and garden section.

Ernest James Glenn, 28, of Merchant Drive in Knoxville, was arrested Sunday by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett Robbins. Glenn has been charged with robbery and theft over $500, and he remains jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

The alleged Playstation theft at GameStop in Oak Ridge has been classified as a robbery, according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Report: Stolen BMW set on fire on Old Batley Road

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A BMW that had been reported stolen in Oak Ridge burned on Old Batley Road on Saturday, authorities said.

The fire appeared to have been set intentionally in the front passenger seat of the green four-door sedan, according to volunteer firefighters from Marlow, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy James Presson wrote in an incident report. Valued at about $6,900, the 2000 BMW 3-series car was towed to Tate’s Towing in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

DA: No suspect, no charge in alleged rape by officer or security guard

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:40 p.m.

The six-month investigation of an alleged rape by a security guard or police officer has been completed, and no suspect has been identified and there is no basis for a criminal charge, Anderson County’s top prosecutor said. Also, the credibility of the alleged victim is in doubt, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a Tuesday letter to Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi.

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported the alleged rape in June. An adult female had reported that she was raped by a uniformed man who appeared to be a police officer or security guard, although it wasn’t clear if a specific agency was ever named. The woman reported that she was handcuffed and raped behind Oak Ridge Mall in the back seat of a police-type cruiser.

The woman was interviewed by Oak Ridge police officers, and the ORPD then contacted the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, which notified the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation of the allegation.

“Due to the nature of the allegation, Chief Akagi thought it would be best to have another agency conduct the investigation,” Clark said in a two-page investigative report.

The TBI investigation of the high-profile case is now complete. [Read more…]

Man killed in Haw Ridge accident was skilled biker, valuable ORNL researcher

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Michael Biegalski

Michael Biegalski (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 23.

The 38-year-old Oak Ridge man who died in what appears to be an accident while mountain biking on Haw Ridge on Saturday is being remembered as a skilled biker and valuable researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Michael David Biegalski, who was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, had been a research and development staff member at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 2008 and had worked there from 2006 to 2008 as a postdoctoral research associate.

“He was an incredibly valuable person to the center,” CNMS Director Hans Christen said Monday. “A friend of everybody, extremely helpful.”

Other mountain bikers described Biegalski, who was married with two young daughters, as very skilled, and Christen said he was very competitive and raced. [Read more…]

Fire displaces family on East Wolf Valley Road

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Information from WYSH Radio

A family was displaced after a fire at a mobile home Saturday night. The fire was reported just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday at 1042 East Wolf Valley Road, and authorities reported that no one was home at the time.

A neighbor who shares a driveway with the home owned by Jennifer Neal saw flames and called 911, and Neal returned home after being notified of the blaze. She told investigators and firefighters that she had left at around 6 p.m. and that her children had not been there all day. Neal said she could not think of anything that could have started the fire. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man dies in apparent biking accident on Haw Ridge

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Michael Biegalski

Michael Biegalski (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 23.

An Oak Ridge man died in what appears to be a tragic mountain biking accident at Haw Ridge on Saturday, authorities said.

Two hikers found the body of Michael Biegalski, 38, near a hiking trail at Haw Ridge at about 4:34 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

The hikers met Oak Ridge Police Department officers at a trailhead, and they guided officers to the body, which was about 300 yards from Old Edgemoor Road. The officers confirmed that Biegalski was deceased, and they called the coroner and criminal investigations division to process the area around the accident, Akagi said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded and helped transport the body. [Read more…]

Knox sheriff searches for suspect in Farragut Pharmacy robbery

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Farragut Pharmacy Robbery Suspect

Source: Knox County Sheriff’s Office

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the man who robbed the Farragut Pharmacy located at 11424 Kingston Pike on Thursday evening.

The reported robbery happened just after 6 p.m. when the suspect entered the store, jumped the counter, demanded pills, and stole money from the register, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was armed with a handgun and is believed to have fled on foot toward Kohl’s department store.

He is described as a white male, 6’2”-6’4”, with a medium build. He was wearing a dark hoodie, black pants,black tactical boots, and a black backpack at the time of the robbery. [Read more…]

Former Wackenhut security officer indicted for theft of public funds

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KNOXVILLE—A federal grand jury in Knoxville has indicted a former security officer at a federal site in Oak Ridge for allegedly stealing U.S. government property and money laundering, officials said Thursday.

Sarah Parker, 52, of Dandridge, Tennessee, was indicted Tuesday, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. Parker was employed as an officer for security contractor Wackenhut Services Inc. at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in Oak Ridge.

She appeared in court on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley Jr. and pleaded not guilty to the charges in the three-count indictment, Killian said. She was released pending trial, which has been set for February 17, 2015, in United States District Court in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Suspect arrested in shooting death of former Hardin Valley football player

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Jack Bush

Jack Bush

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a former Hardin Valley football player in west Knox County on Saturday was arrested on Wednesday, authorities said.

Jack Bush, 19, turned himself in at the City-County Building just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. He was charged with voluntary manslaughter and was released on a $10,000 bond.

The shooting occurred just after 1 a.m. Saturday, December 13. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Bush came out of his home at 7777 Christen Lee Circle in west Knox County and confronted 19-year-old Evan Hall in the street. During the confrontation, Bush shot Hall, the Sheriff’s Office said. Hall was pronounced dead on the scene by Rural Metro.

Hall was a former Hardin Valley offensive lineman. He graduated in 2013.

Photos: Welcome home for Afghanistan vet

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Oak Ridge Fire Department Tower Truck

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and its tower truck help welcome home an Afghanistan veteran on Saturday. (Pictures by Tom Scott)

 

The Oak Ridge community and the Oak Ridge Fire Department welcomed Sgt. Charles Dozema upon his return from a nine-month tour in Afghanistan at the intersection of the Oak Ridge Turnpike on Saturday afternoon.

Here are a few pictures by Tom Scott. [Read more…]

After tip, investigative work, sex offender wanted in Sullivan arrested in Heiskell

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Glen Reed Keller

Glen Reed Keller

After a tip by a resident and investigative work by dispatchers, Anderson County deputies on Tuesday arrested a man in Heiskell who was wanted by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office in Blountville for violating the sexual offender registry.

Glen Reed Keller, 43, was arrested Tuesday evening at a home on White Oak Lane in Heiskell community, Anderson County  Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

The Anderson County Communications Center had received a tip from a citizen who had watched a news report on television concerning Keller. Dispatchers had seen the same broadcast. The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office had sent a news release to the local media in the Tri-Cities, area which was shared with a local TV outlet in Knoxville, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Roane sheriff seeks help solving Rocky Top robbery

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Rocky Top Midtown Robbery

The Rocky Top Market in Midtown was robbed on December 7, and the Roane County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help solving the crime, authorities said.

A man entered the Rocky Top store at about 2:35 a.m. Sunday, December 7, and demanded cash, a press release said.

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous, the release said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Roane County Sheriff’s Office at (865) 717-4722 or the anonymous tip line at (865) 717-4217, or contact authorities through the sheriff’s website at www.roanesheriff.org or through a private message on Facebook.