Simon Byrne
The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force has named a new director after the former director was elected Anderson County sheriff.
Russell Barker had previously been the director, but he was elected sheriff on August 2.
On Tuesday, Anderson County’s law enforcement leaders, acting as the Board of Directors of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, named Simon Byrne as director, District Attorney General Dave Clark said. [Read more…]
Christy Viola Comer
Note: This story was updated at 1:20 p.m. September 3.
A Rocky Top woman has been arrested and charged with homicide in the death of an 83-year-old man, state authorities said.
Christy Viola Comer, 37, was arrested by special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, with help from several local law enforcement agencies, a TBI press release said.
On Friday morning, authorities found the body of J.C. Copeland outside of his home in the 600 block of Jacksboro Avenue in Rocky Top. TBI agents started investigating at the request of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark and with help from the Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]
Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge
Submitted
On Friday, August 24, at about 12:38 a.m., the Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to a fire alarm caused by water flow from sprinklers at NHC Healthcare on Laboratory Road.
The first unit on scene reported that an employee saw fire coming from a clothes dryer and then saw water flow in the dryer area. The engine company controlled the water from the sprinkler head, closed gas, and disconnected power from all three dryers. No injuries were reported, and no fire damage was noted in or around the dryer. Fire department personnel also mitigated the water from the sprinkler head activation. The facility was back to normal operation within a few hours.
This was the second incident worked by the Oak Ridge Fire Department in just 24 hours that involved the successful use of a life-saving device. [Read more…]
Brian Galloway
Russell Barker, who will be sworn in as Anderson County sheriff on September 1, has named his chief deputy and jail administrator.
Brian Galloway will serve as chief deputy, and Richard Parker will serve as jail administrator.
Galloway will replace Mark Lucas, who is retiring August 31 after losing to Barker in the race for sheriff in the August 2 general election in Anderson County.
Parker will replace the current jail administrator, Avery Johnson. [Read more…]
Robert Keith Myers
Note: This story was last updated at 5:33 p.m.
A 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder Monday after a shooting in the parking lot at the Walmart in Clinton last year, and he also pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping after severely beating and shooting at a woman near Briceville, authorities said.
Robert Keith “Robbie” Myers pleaded guilty on Monday to the second-degree murder of Marshall Pinsly on April 28, 2017, and he also pleaded guilty to the attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping of Brandy Moneymaker on February 8, 2017, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The plea agreement was heard in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, Clark said in a press release.
Myers received back-to-back prison sentences of 15 years and 12 years. He has an effective sentence of 27 years, which he will serve without the possibility of parole, Clark said. [Read more…]
A smoke alarm saved a life in a fire at a home on East Drive early Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. (Photo by Tom Scott/ORFD Photographer)
A smoke alarm saved a life in a fire at a home on East Drive early Thursday, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.
The fire was reported at the home at about 1:52 a.m. Thursday. The first Fire Department unit was at the house within minutes and found heavy smoke and fire coming from the home.
The resident was outside when fire crews arrived, the ORFD said. He said a smoke alarm woke him up.
The home received extensive damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the ORFD said.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department said it would like to remind everyone of the importance of having a smoke alarm in their home. [Read more…]
One person died in a motorcycle crash on State Route 61 in Oliver Springs on Wednesday, authorities said.
The single-vehicle crash killed Nakomia Joseph, 40, of Knoxville. She was a passenger in the custom “trike” motorcycle, according to a fatality report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The crash was reported at about 7:21 p.m. Wednesday, the THP said.
The motorcycle was driven by Timothy Joseph, 38, of Clinton, and it was headed west on State Route 61 when an unknown object or animal “interrupted the vehicle’s path,” the THP said. [Read more…]
James R. Baysinger
CLINTON—A Knoxville man pleaded guilty to reckless homicide on Friday in the death of a five-year-old boy in Anderson County about three years ago. The child was reported to have drowned after being reported missing.
James R. Baysinger, 63, pleaded guilty to the single count of reckless homicide in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday afternoon. As part of the plea deal, the state will not prosecute a second charge, aggravated child abuse or neglect when the victim, Odin Elwood Fitton, was less than eight years old.
Baysinger has a sentencing hearing scheduled for November 27.
There was no allegation in court on Friday that Baysinger intended to injure or kill Odin. Instead, the boy’s death was alleged to have resulted from recklessness.
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Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, and Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program are teaming up to host a Fire & Crime Prevention Celebration this year. The date is set for Saturday, October 6.
Everyone is invited to participate and support this free event, which combines the police department’s annual National Night Out and the fire department’s Fire Prevention Parade into one big community celebration, a press release said. Goals of the Fire & Crime Prevention Celebration include: [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Police Department will offer an educational Ask an Officer session on personal safety at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Tuesday, August 28, at 1 p.m.
You can join Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Shannah Newman and Investigator Wendy Zolkowski for this special program sponsored by the Oak Ridge Senior Center, a press release said. This event is open to participants of any age. Everyone is invited to come out and learn how to become safer and more secure in everyday life, the press release said.
A question and answer session will follow the presentation if time allows. There is no cost for the program, but please call the Oak Ridge Senior Center at (865) 425-3999 to reserve a spot.
A motorcyclist from Clinton was injured in a crash with a car in Solway on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The car-motorcycle crash was reported at about 9:17 a.m. Tuesday on State Route 62 (Pellissippi Parkway) in west Knox County. [Read more…]
Sidney Bruce Jarvis
Note: This story was updated at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 18.
A Clinton man was charged with attempted first-degree murder and domestic assault after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck, tossed her out of a shower, and fired a handgun at her three times, court records said.
The armed disturbance was reported on Blockhouse Valley Road in Clinton on April 3. The defendant, Sidney Bruce Jarvis, 57, has a hearing scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.
The April incident was the second time in two months that Jarvis was accused of assaulting the woman and firing a gun, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.
After he was read his Miranda rights in April, Jarvis told Clinton Police Department Officer Austin Powell that he pulled the female victim out of the shower because she “would not stop running her mouth,” the affidavits said.
He said he fired his handgun to get her attention, the affidavits said. [Read more…]
