Oak Ridge Today

Claxton woman indicted in alleged backpage.com robbery

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Lindsay Elaine Pressley

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

 

A Claxton woman has been indicted in an alleged robbery at gunpoint in Claxton in 2016 that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 27, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on November 7. She was arrested Thursday and remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Saturday night, with her bond set at $100,000.

The grand jury indicted Pressley on four charges: aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping.

In July, the grand jury indicted a Knoxville man, Richard Norman Pressley, 31, in the case. He was also charged with aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping using a weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping. The Pressleys had been identified as husband and wife in a press release from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after the alleged robbery and kidnapping in a mobile home on Queen Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road in Claxton on May 21, 2016. [Read more…]

New short code for text messages, weather warnings from ORFD, CodeRED

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New CodeRED Short Code 2017

CodeRED, the emergency notification system used by the Oak Ridge Fire Department, launched a new short code for SMS text messages and weather warning messages this month. Notifications will now come from 76993, a press release said.

A short code is the five- or six-digit number sequence that appears on a mobile device when a message is delivered. This update means that any citizen who saved the previous short code in their phone as a contact will no longer see the name they designated (i.e. “CodeRED Alert”), but users will continue to receive messages just as they have in the past.

No action is required for users of the CodeRED system in light of this recent update. However, they are encouraged to program the new short code into their mobile phone or other device to ensure awareness of future alerts, the press release said. Again, the new short code is 76993. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department has holiday crime prevention tips

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Anderson County Sheriff's Department Badge

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has offered holiday crime prevention tips.

“The busy holiday season is…upon us and many people can become victims of burglary, theft, and other crime,” a press release said. “Protecting yourself and your home from crime is the easiest way to have a safe, happy holiday season.”

To help ensure everyone has safe and fun holidays, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department would like to offer the following tips for holiday crime prevention.

Shopping:

  • Park in lighted areas at night.
  • Always lock your car.
  • Don’t try to cover items on your seats. Put shopping bags in your trunk or take your packages straight home after shopping and then go back out.
  • Don’t carry large amounts of cash with you, or else, keep it in your front pocket—not in your purse or wallet.
  • Be extra careful when carrying a purse—they are the prime targets of criminals in crowded shopping areas. If you must carry one, make sure it has a strap that can go over the shoulder and be held under the arm, making them more difficult for purse snatchers to grab.
  • Keep a record of all of your debit and credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
  • Beware of strangers approaching you. This is the time of year when thieves may try various methods to distract you with the intention of taking your money or belongings.

[Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department, Highway Safety Office increase impaired-driving enforcement during holidays

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To promote traffic safety and help save lives this holiday season, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office to increase impaired-driving enforcement during the holiday season, a press release said.

The THSO’s statewide Booze It and Lose It campaign is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over nationwide mobilization, the press release said.

There are these simple steps people can take to stay safe and out of trouble: [Read more…]

Monday night standoff with police ends with no injuries

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A Monday night standoff with police ended with no injuries, authorities said.

It started when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to conduct a welfare check at a home in the 100 block of Robertsville Road at about 5:44 p.m. Monday.

“When officers attempted to make contact with the person inside the home, they observed a man in a crouched position holding an object that may have been a firearm,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“Crisis negotiators were called to the scene to assist, but the individual threatened officers and refused to come out of the house,” the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Two charged with aggravated assault in West Bryn Mawr shooting

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Terris Lavonte Marsh

Terris Lavonte Marsh

 

A man and woman, both 18 years old, have been charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in the shooting that was reported into a house with five people inside, including three juveniles, on West Bryn Mawr Circle in west Oak Ridge on November 15, according to court records.

The suspect has been identified as Terris Lavonte Marsh, 18, a transient in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

In the warrants, Oak Ridge Police Department Detective A. Marvell Moore said Marsh was identified through interviews, physical evidence, and social media posts, and he was interviewed at the Knox County Detention Facility.

After he was advised of his Miranda rights, Marsh said he shot into the home on West Bryn Mawr Circle because of an ongoing dispute with one of the residents, Moore said in the affidavits attached to the warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

More sick wildlife reported. Contact ORPD if you see a sick animal.

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

 

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has noticed an increase in the number of reports of sick animals, or animals in distress, and the City of Oak Ridge is asking residents to notify the Oak Ridge Police Department about potentially sick wildlife.

Many of the reports involve raccoons or foxes, but other wildlife can also be affected, the city said in a press release Monday.

“Shelter staff believe these animals could be suffering from a strain of distemper,” the press release said.

“As a safety precaution, it is important that citizens do not attempt to capture wildlife on their own or transport wildlife to the animal shelter for treatment,” the press release said. “This is recommended to avoid possible injury to humans and animals as well as preventing the spread of disease or infection.” [Read more…]

Man killed in crash on Dutch Valley Road

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A 40-year-old man was killed after being ejected from a car in a single-vehicle crash on Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Winston T. Nelson, of Clinton, was driving east in a 1992 Mazda Miata convertible on Dutch Valley Road near Smith Road when he failed to maintain his lane, according to information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Nelson swerved to avoid a collision with a westbound vehicle when he lost control of his car, went off the left shoulder of the road, and struck an embankment and then an AT&T phone box, the THP said in a fatality report. After hitting the phone box, the Mazda Miata spun and collided with a tree, the THP said. That impact caused the car to keep spinning until it stopped off the roadway on the left shoulder, according to the report.

But before it finally stopped, Nelson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected out of the top of the car, the THP said. [Read more…]

Kidnapping, assault charges sent to grand jury in Hibachi Burger robbery

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Dominique Leshawn Gordon

Dominique Leshawn Gordon

 

Sixteen assault and kidnapping charges in a robbery reported at gunpoint at Hibachi Burger in Oak Ridge in January were sent to a grand jury on Tuesday.

An aggravated robbery charge was dismissed due to a technical issue with a warrant, but that charge is expected to also be considered by the Anderson County Grand Jury. An indictment by the grand jury would move the case from Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge, where it has been, to Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

The armed robbery was reported at about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, January 10, at the Hibachi Burger restaurant, which is in Grove Center.

The defendant, Dominique Leshawn Gordon, 22, allegedly entered Hibachi Burger while displaying a firearm, and he demanded money from the register while showing the gun to several employees and customers, “placing them in fear of serious bodily injury,” according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

After getting the money, Gordon fled on foot, but he was caught a short time later by Oak Ridge Police Department patrol officers, the affidavits said. Officers who searched him after his arrest found the money that had been taken from the restaurant, according to the affidavits, which were filed by ORPD Detective A. Marvell Moore. [Read more…]

Police catch man six minutes after robbery reported at Arby’s

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Tyler Gilmore

Tyler Gilmore

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department said it caught a suspect within six minutes of a robbery being reported at the Arby’s restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon.

The strong armed robbery was reported at 2:10 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant, which is at 114 South Illinois Avenue.

“Officers saturated the area and apprehended the suspect within six minutes of the initial call,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“Police learned that the suspect forcibly took a patron’s wallet as he was entering the restaurant,” the ORPD said. “The suspect fled on foot into a nearby neighborhood. Once police captured the suspect, they were able to recover the stolen wallet containing $13.00 in cash. No injuries were reported.” [Read more…]

Clinton crash injures one

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Information from WYSH radio

A single-vehicle crash Thursday evening in Clinton sent one person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by Lifestar.

Few details of the crash have been made available, but WYSH reported that Clinton Police Department and Clinton Fire Department units, along with Anderson County EMS personnel, responded to the westbound lanes of Highway 61 near the rock slide area at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The victim, believed to have been the driver of the lone vehicle involved, was flown to UT Medical Center by a Lifestar medical helicopter for treatment of his or her injuries. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating robbery reported at Cash Company

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The robbery was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at the business, which is at 1966 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the ORPD said.

“Officers were advised that a single suspect entered the business with a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money,” the Police Department said in a statement. “The suspect was described as a Caucasian male wearing a dark-colored ski jacket and a light-colored ski mask. The suspect showed the weapon to an employee, took an undisclosed amount of cash, and fled west on foot.” [Read more…]