.ROANE COUNTY–Authorities are investigating a car crash in a creek alongside Poplar Creek Road in Roane County early Tuesday afternoon.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Man charged with attempted murder in alleged baseball bat attack
Clayton Perry Jones
Note: This story was last updated at 3:45 p.m. March 22.
An Anderson County man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly beating another man in the head, arms, and back with a baseball bat at a car wash in Oliver Springs in the summer of 2016, according to court records.
Clayton Perry Jones, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, March 13, on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a weapon, according to court records. He has an arraignment scheduled for March 26 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.
Jones is accused of beating Brett Blank in the head, back, and arms with a baseball bat as Blank was cleaning his vehicle at the Sportsman Car Wash on East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 14, 2016, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on July 13, 2017.
The alleged beating was stopped by a witness with a handgun who was also at the car wash cleaning his vehicle, which was parked in front of Blank’s vehicle, according to the affidavit. The armed witness, Hank Mullins, saw Jones hitting Blank with the baseball bat, and Mullins revealed his concealed-carry handgun to deter the fight and told them to “Stop! Stop! Stop!” according to the affidavit. Both Blank and Jones then ran in opposite directions, said the affidavit, which was filed by Oliver Springs Police Department Patrolman Samuel Seiber. [Read more…]
Social justice, sociology of incarceration to be discussed Tuesday
Michelle Brown
Social justice and the sociology of incarceration will be discussed at Lunch with the League on Tuesday. The speaker will be Michelle Brown of the University of Tennessee Department of Sociology.
The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Brown received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University and joined the faculty at UT in 2011, a press release said.
“Currently, she studies and advocates for anti-prison and racial justice movements in carceral regimes,” the press release said. “She is particularly interested in the use of rights claims and visual tactics in community and national organizing.” [Read more…]
Construction advisory for Methodist Medical Center
Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above.
Starting Friday, March 16, construction crews will be working day and night on top of the roof of Methodist Medical Center this weekend to install new air handling units on the hospital’s West Tower. Because of the nature and non-stop timing of this project, there will be activity and lighting on the roof of West Tower around the clock until the work is completed sometime on the evening of Sunday, March 18, a press release said.
For patient comfort, patients and staff currently on 5-West will be moved to another floor to minimize exposure to noise during the project. In addition, a portion of the driveway around the back of the hospital will be closed due to equipment staging. The hospital’s helipad will also be closed to helicopter traffic; however, an alternative landing zone has been coordinated with the Oak Ridge Fire Department for any incoming or outgoing air transport needs.
Emergency services should be accessed via the east side of the hospital nearest the Emergency Department entrance. All private car discharges will occur from the Main Lobby during this period.
This press release was submitted by Crystal Jordan.
Attempted murder charge sent to grand jury in Claxton shooting
Jacob Lynn Rutherford
CLINTON—An attempted first-degree murder charge has been sent to the grand jury in a case involving an Oak Ridge man accused of shooting and injuring two men and shooting near a woman but not hitting her.
Two charges of reckless endangerment were also bound over, or sent to the grand jury. Those charges had initially been filed as attempted first-degree murder.
A preliminary hearing for Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 23, was held Wednesday, March 7, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.
Rutherford had originally been charged with a total of three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment. One count of reckless endangerment was dismissed during the preliminary hearing last week, meaning Rutherford faces the one attempted first-degree murder charge and the two counts of reckless endangerment that were originally attempted murder. [Read more…]
City code could require animal shelters to protect against cold, dampness
James T. Akagi
A change to the Oak Ridge city code that will be considered Monday would require doghouses and shelters for outdoor animals to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.
Current city code requires access to a barn, doghouse, or other shelter “sufficient to protect the animal from the elements.”
But new language could be added to that section: “Doghouses and similar shelters shall be made of durable materials with a solid, moisture-proof floor, and must contain clean bedding material consisting of hay, straw, cedar shavings, or the equivalent to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.”
There have been concerns raised by residents, especially during cold winter weather, about keeping outdoor animals or pets safe and protected from freezing and below-freezing temperatures. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday night if those concerns led to the proposed code change.
The amended city code would require the approval of the Oak Ridge City Council, which meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The change would be done through an ordinance, which requires City Council to approve it in two separate meetings, usually two monthly meetings. [Read more…]
Two charged in alleged robbery that started with car sale
Michael Rodney Sharp
Two people have been charged in an alleged robbery that started with a car sale, court records said.
The robbery was reported to have occurred on Bolin Road on the west side of Rocky Top on Thursday, February 22.
The two people charged with aggravated robbery in the case are Michael Rodney Sharp, 50, and Stephanie Jean Hoskins, 29, who both live on Bolin Road, according to Anderson County jail records.
The victim reported going to Bolin Road to buy a car from Sharp, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Gregory Stanley.
While she was talking to Sharp, the victim said, Hoskins hit her in the back of the head with a stick, knocking her unconscious, according to the affidavits. The victim said she was unconscious for about five minutes. [Read more…]
Clinton High School student charged after threatening notes
A Clinton High School student is in custody after an investigation into threatening notes found in a classroom on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
An investigation by school resource officers and investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Clinton High School officials led to the identification of the 15-year-old female student responsible for leaving the notes, which made false threats of a school shooting, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.
Charges will be filed in Anderson County Juvenile Court for felony false reports and disorderly conduct, according to the information, provided by Chief Deputy Mark Lucas. The girl is currently being held in the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center in Knoxville pending a detention hearing. [Read more…]
Warrant: Gun fired as shooting victim tried to grab it during argument
Christopher Lee Roberts
The defendant in a fatal shooting near Clinton on Thursday pulled out a gun during an argument, and it fired when the victim tried to grab it, according to court records.
After the shooting, the defendant, Christopher Lee Roberts, 45, who has been charged with criminal homicide, repeatedly said “I just f****d up” or “I messed up,” according to home owner Martin “Chris” Alsop and resident Michael Carroll.
The shooting, which killed Bradley Charles Bivens, 48, was reported at 611 Sinking Springs Road in Anderson County at about 9 p.m. Thursday. [Read more…]
Loaded pistol found in parking area at Clinton Elementary
A teacher found a loaded pistol in the upper parking area at Clinton Elementary School at about 6:50 a.m. Monday, authorities said.
The school contacted the Clinton Police Department, and officers arrived to ensure the weapon was made safe, a press release said.
“The weapon hasn’t been reported stolen, and we will be taking measures to ensure it isn’t tied to any criminal activity,” the CPD said.
The rear parking area of the building is open to the public after hours. Friday night, the school hosted a fundraiser, and it is possible that the weapon accidentally fell from a vehicle that evening, the press release said. [Read more…]
Sheriff’s Department asks for help finding shooting suspect
Christopher Lee Roberts
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help finding a suspect who is wanted for criminal homicide after a fatal shooting on Sinking Springs Road near Clinton on Thursday evening.
Deputies responded to the shooting at 611 Sinking Springs Road at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday. When they arrived, they found Bradley Charles Bivens, 48, of Clinton, had been shot and killed, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.
Sheriff’s investigators have obtained an arrest warrant for criminal homicide on Christopher Lee Roberts, 45, of Clinton, Lucas said. [Read more…]
Two more students charged after threats, including shooting-related threat
Oak Ridge High School
Two more Oak Ridge students have been charged after police investigated threats, including a shooting-related threat, at Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Middle School on Friday.
In the threat reported at Oak Ridge High School, a 15-year-old male student allegedly made verbal threats to another student, saying that if he was going to “shoot up the school,” he “would shoot her first,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
The threat was reported just before 3 p.m. Friday. The boy was removed from class and taken to the principal’s office, along with the alleged victim and a witness, the ORPD said.
“After conducting interviews and further investigation, officers learned the suspect allegedly made verbal threats to another student, stating that if he was going to ‘shoot up the school,’ he ‘would shoot her first,'” the ORPD said. [Read more…]
