Oak Ridge Today

Citing insufficient evidence, Y-12 protesters seek acquittal on most serious charge

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William Quigley and Supporters

William P. Quigley of New Orleans, left, an attorney for one of the three anti-nuclear weapons activists who spray-painted biblical passages and poured blood on a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July, greets supporters outside U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday.

Attorneys for the three protesters on trial this week for vandalizing a uranium storage building at a nuclear weapons plant said the government doesn’t have enough evidence to convict the defendants on a national defense charge, the most serious of the two remaining charges.

The national defense charge alleges Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli willfully injured national defense premises when they cut through three fences in a high-security Protected Area at Y-12 on July 28 and spray-painted biblical passages and poured blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. The charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years. [Read more…]

Y-12 site manager, fired security guard could testify at protester trial

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Plowshares Protesters Jury Selection

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Greg Boertje-Obed are pictured with Michele Naar-Obed after jury selection in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday. Rice and Boertje-Obed and a third defendant, Michael Walli, are on trial this week for vandalizing a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July.

This story was updated at 9 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—A federal official who oversees production work at two nuclear weapons plants and the guard who was fired after the unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July could both testify this week during the trial of three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of vandalizing a uranium storage building.

The federal official, Steven C. Erhart, oversees nuclear production work at Y-12 and the Pantex Site in Amarillo, Texas. He manages the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, or NPO.

The guard, Kirk Garland, was the first security officer to reach the three anti-nuclear weapons activists, who cut through three fences in a high-security Protected Area at Y-12 before dawn on July 28 and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. Garland was fired Aug. 10, a few weeks after the intrusion. [Read more…]

Jury selection starts today for Y-12 protesters

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

Jury selection starts this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Knoxville for the three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalizing a uranium storage building.

The jury selection starts at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 1A.

The case against Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli starts Tuesday.

Oak Ridge to honor law enforcement personnel on May 15

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Peace Officers Memorial

Oak Ridge police officers stand at attention during a National Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony at the Municipal Building in 2012.

The Oak Ridge Police Department will honor law enforcement personnel during the annual Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony on Wednesday, May 15.

It’s part of National Police Week, scheduled from May 12 through May 18.

The Oak Ridge ceremony will be held in front of the Oak Ridge Municipal Building near the flagpole at 1:30 p.m. May 15. Personnel from all law enforcement agencies in the Anderson and Roane County areas have been invited to attend, along with state and federal law enforcement personnel, as well as local prosecutorial elements and public officials, a press release said. [Read more…]

Man accused of strangling girlfriend at hotel

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A 49-year-old transient was charged with aggravated assault on Wednesday after he allegedly strangled his girlfriend, an Oak Ridge woman, at Days Inn on South Illinois Avenue, authorities said.

Darryel McDonald also allegedly pushed the victim down in the hotel parking lot as she attempted to run from him to the Days Inn office for help, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Clinton has antique, emergency preparedness fairs this weekend

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Information from WYSH Radio

It will be a busy weekend in Clinton.

Today and Saturday, the 9th annual Clinch River Spring Antique Fair will take over historic downtown Clinton. The Fair kicks off with a party from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight featuring food and live music by West Wind, plus many of the shops will stay open late. [Read more…]

Judge says prosecution against Y-12 protesters not selective, vindictive

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A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed claims by three anti-nuclear weapons activists who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July that a so-called sabotage charge filed against them in December was the result of vindictive and selective prosecution.

The defendants had asked the U.S. District Court in Knoxville to dismiss that charge, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years. They alleged government prosecutors sought the new charge because they had earlier refused to plead guilty to less serious charges. [Read more…]

Proactive policing, officer visibility, Neighborhood Watch help reduce crime, chief says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The number of reported crimes has dropped significantly in each of the past two years in Oak Ridge, and that’s good news for the community, economic development, and police officer morale, officials said Wednesday.

Reported crimes were down 9 percent in Oak Ridge in 2011, and 11.5 percent in 2012, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics.

“That indicates to me that isn’t a blip,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. “It’s not a one-year blip.” [Read more…]

ORNL-issued iPad stolen in Clinton

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Note: This story was updated at 5:02 p.m.

An Oak Ridge National Laboratory employee reported that a lab-issued iPad was stolen from his car while he and his wife shopped at the Dollar General store on Charles Seivers Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Gregory and Robin Chitwood called police around 2 p.m. Tuesday and reported that the device had been in the car when they went into the store but was gone when they returned, WYSH said. [Read more…]

More than 300 pounds of unused medicine collected

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Information from WYSH Radio

Local law enforcement agencies teamed up to host Operation Medicine Cabinet at four locations across the county on Saturday, and more than 300 pounds of medicine were collected.

That amount far surpassed the weight from any previous event held in the county since law enforcement agencies began collecting and disposing medicine in 2010. In all, 314.6 pounds of medicine were collected at sites in Clinton, Oak Ridge, and Oliver Springs, said Stephanie Strutner, executive director for Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention. The medications were disposed by DEA. [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters can’t use necessity, Nuremberg defenses at Tuesday trial

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

The three protesters accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex and vandalizing a uranium storage building in July will not be able to argue during their trial next week that they violated federal laws in order to achieve a greater good, a judge said.

It’s what is known as a necessity defense, and it only applies in rare situations, U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar said in an opinion and order filed Tuesday. It allows a defendant to avoid a conviction even when the government has proven all the elements of an offense.

Thapar said the three anti-nuclear weapons activists—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—did not have any evidence to establish three of the four required elements of the necessity defense, including a “reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury due to a present, imminent, and unlawful threat.”

[Read more…]

Man uses water bottle, clothing to put out stovetop fire

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An Oak Ridge man used a water bottle and clothing to put out a fire that started after he fell asleep while cooking chicken fat on his stove early Monday morning, authorities said.

Walter H. Starnes said there was smoke in the home on North Alabama Road when he woke up, and he used a water bottle to extinguish a cabinet fire and clothing to smother a fire in a pot on a stove, according to a report by Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Griffith. [Read more…]