Oak Ridge Today

For members: Man charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin, meth

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Joshua Andrew Koch

A 42-year-old Anderson County man is facing federal charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine after a search of a home in Claxton in July allegedly found about 230 grams of a white, crystal-like substance thought to be methamphetamine and roughly 69.5 grams of a brown powder substance suspected to be heroin, according to state and federal court records.

The defendant, Joshua Andrew Koch, has also been charged with federal financial and firearms crimes, and he has seven co-defendants in the case, although the charges vary by defendant. A seven-count federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in November alleged a two-year conspiracy.

For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for shooting that injured two

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The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigates a shooting at 3008 Clinton Highway, at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road, on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, 2018. Two people were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man received a 20-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting that injured two people during an argument in a Clinton Highway home about two years ago.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 25, entered the plea agreement in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday morning.

One flown to hospital after two-vehicle crash

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Salem Road Crash Jan 6 2020
One person was flown to a hospital after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Salem Road on Monday morning, Jan. 6, 2020. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Police Department)

One person was flown to a hospital after a two-vehicle crash in west Oak Ridge on Monday morning, emergency responders said.

The crash was reported at about 6:15 a.m. Monday on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Salem Road. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded.

When they arrived, Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters found a heavily damaged vehicle with the injured driver still inside. They quickly extinguished a small fire in the engine compartment of the vehicle and rescued the driver, emergency responders said. The injured driver was then flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The driver of the second vehicle reported no injuries.

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For members: Man sentenced to more than 12 years on federal meth conspiracy charge

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Samuel McCoy Wade

An Oak Ridge man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Samuel Wade agreed to plead guilty in April, and he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in August.

Meth, conspiracy charges dismissed after warrantless search

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William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

Citing a warrantless search, an Anderson County judge has dismissed drug and conspiracy charges in a case where police allegedly found 45.1 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack in an Oak Ridge motel room in May.

“I hate to dismiss serious charges,” said Roger Miller, judge of the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. But, he added, “I don’t think the proof would hold up.”

Suggesting that a search warrant should have been obtained, Miller said he is accessible and signs many search warrants.

The two people charged in the case had been William Michael Renfro, 18, of Oak Ridge, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22, also of Oak Ridge.

Renfro had been charged with manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule II controlled substance (the 45.1 grams of meth), a Class A felony; criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony; manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule IV controlled substance (9.5 grams of marijuana), a Class D felony; and possession of a firearm (a Ruger Security Six .357 revolver with six rounds) during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class D felony.

All four of those charges were dismissed after a preliminary hearing for Renfro in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Thursday, December 12. During a preliminary hearing, a judge can hear from witnesses, victims, and police officers, and determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

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New federal designation means more law enforcement funding, full-time ATF agent

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Anderson-County-High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area-Press-Conference-Dec-17-2019
A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.

As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.

“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”

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Sheriff: Clinton man charged with child rape, incest

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Royce Earley
Royce Earley

Royce Scott Earley, 42, of Clinton was arrested Sunday night on three charges of rape of a child and incest, law enforcement officers said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Darrell Slater was dispatched to the victim’s home in Clinton to investigate a sexual offense, Sheriff Russell Barker said in a press release Monday. After obtaining a statement from the witness, Slater turned his attention to finding Earley.

Earley was located in his parked truck at the Mountain View boat ramp in Clinton, the sheriff said. Earley was taken to the Criminal Investigations Division at the Sheriff’s Office and interviewed by Slater.

After the interview, Slater obtained arrest warrants and placed Earley in custody, the press release said. He was transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton without incident.

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Woman charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing man

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Stephanie Shinlever
Stephanie Shinlever

An Oak Ridge woman was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly stabbed a man in his abdomen, tricep, and thigh on Utica Circle early Friday morning, according to Anderson County court records.

Stephanie Shinlever, 23, was initially charged with attempted criminal homicide and tampering with evidence on Friday. But the attempted criminal homicide charge was amended to attempted first-degree murder on Tuesday, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a reported assault at a Utica Circle apartment at about 2:12 a.m. Friday. When they arrived, they were led to a unit where the victim, Skylar Patterson, was laying on a couch, bleeding profusely from his abdomen, the affidavits said.

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Clinch Avenue needs repairs near bridge after heavy rains

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Clinton Police Department Clinch Avenue Road Separation Nov 25 2019
Clinch Avenue in Clinton will require repairs after heavy rains on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, caused the road bed to fail in the northbound lanes just north of the Lewallen Bridge, according to the Clinton Police Department. (Photo courtesy CPD)

Clinch Avenue in Clinton will require repairs after heavy rains on Saturday caused the road bed to fail in the northbound lanes just north of the Lewallen Bridge, according to the Clinton Police Department.

The bridge is not affected, but the traffic lanes on Clinch Avenue (State Route 9) near South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard (State Route 61).

The Tennessee Department of Transportation currently has traffic restricted to one lane traveling in each direction, the CPD said Monday.

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Man taken to hospital after shooting in Andersonville

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A man was taken to a hospital after a shooting in Andersonville on Monday morning, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at about 10:08 a.m. Monday on Defoe Road in Andersonville.

A man had gunshot wounds on his leg, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

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Six women arrested for allegedly conspiring to steal shoes in Oak Ridge

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Rack Room Shoes Theft Oak Ridge Police Department Nov 21 2019
Six women were arrested Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, after they allegedly ran from Rack Room Shoes in Main Street Oak Ridge with about $3,300 worth of stolen merchandise, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

Six women were arrested Thursday and charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after they allegedly ran from a shoe store in Main Street Oak Ridge with about $3,300 worth of stolen merchandise, police officers said.

Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Marvell Moore said he had been conducting a retail theft patrol near Rack Room Shoes at about 1:19 p.m. Thursday. While in the parking lot, Moore said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, he saw the women enter Rack Room Shoes with large purses and plastic bags that appeared to be empty.

“Based on my training and experience, I know that shoplifters will carry large empty bags to conceal merchandise,” Moore said in the warrants.

After a short time, Moore said he saw the women run out of Rack Room Shoes with the same bags that they had when they entered. However, now the bags were full, Moore said.

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Warrant: Argument between neighbors ends with fatal shooting, homicide charge

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George Michael Patterson
George Michael Patterson

Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Nov. 26.

An argument between neighbors ended with a fatal shooting in Rocky Top on Saturday morning, and one man has been charged with criminal homicide, according to Anderson County court records.

The shooting was reported just before 8 a.m. Saturday on Willow Lane in Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

An arrest warrant filed after the shooting said the man charged with criminal homicide, George Michael Patterson, 64, had been arguing with his neighbor, David Ray Roach Jr., 43, in front of Patterson’s home. Roach was initially in his vehicle during the argument, parked in the roadway, the warrant said.

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