Oak Ridge Today

Drop off expired, unused meds on Oct. 29

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is participating in the National Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29.

On that day, anyone in the community can drop off their expired or unused medications at the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The drug take-back is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. October 29.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the most common method of obtaining pills is through family and friends, a press release said.

“Prescription drugs could be easily stolen at home when they are left in unlocked cabinets and drawers,” the release said.

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Norton Road home destroyed by fire

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A home on Norton Road in Oak Ridge was destroyed in a fire on Sunday, and a resident had injuries that were not life-threatening. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

A home on Norton Road in Oak Ridge was destroyed by a fire on Sunday, and a resident had injuries that were not life-threatening.

The house fire was reported at about 5 p.m. Sunday, September 4. When Oak Ridge firefighters arrived, they saw a large amount of smoke and fire coming from the home, a press release said.

“The fire was under control within 20 minutes of arrival, but fire crews remained on scene for the next several hours to put out hot spots,” the press release said.

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Man sentenced to 8 years after fleeing, crashing, attempting carjackings

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An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital as a man fled from police on South Illinois Avenue around Panera Bread on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, authorities said. (File photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

An Oak Ridge man received an eight-year sentence Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to seven charges after fleeing from police on South Illinois Avenue four years ago, crashing, and attempting two carjackings in the Panera Bread drive-through.

Khristoff Deshawn Lee, 29, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court Tuesday afternoon to two counts of attempted carjacking, two counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a weapon, and evading arrest.

Three Ohio residents die in two-vehicle crash

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Three Ohio residents died in a two-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road at Old Emory Road in Claxton on Friday, July 22.

The three Ohio residents were all in the same vehicle, a 2018 Honda CRV, and they were all from Mansfield, Ohio, according to a preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The driver was Peter Webel, 75, and the two passengers were Linda Webel, 76, and Frieda Gottschling, 80.

The other vehicle, a 2004 GMC Sonoma, was driven by a juvenile male from Knoxville.

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TBI investigating man’s death

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a 39-year-old man during an interaction with Oak Ridge police officers in the Hendrix Creek subdivision on Sunday afternoon.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers had made contact with the man, Tyler Jones, after receiving a report of a suspicious person around Heritage Drive, the TBI said. He began showing signs of distress, and medical personnel were called.

“At some point during the encounter, after medical personnel arrived, Jones became unresponsive,” the TBI said. “Officers immediately rendered aid until paramedics arrived. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

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Investigation under way in West Outer Drive house fire

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Three people are safe after a house fire on West Outer Drive on Friday morning, July 15, 2022. (Photo from City of Oak Ridge)

Three people are safe after a house fire on West Outer Drive on Friday morning.

Fire crews arrived on scene of the home, located at 687 West Outer Drive, within three minutes of the call, a press release said. They arrived at 10:06 a.m. to find the home on fire with heavy smoke coming from the roof.

One man suffered injuries that weren’t life-threatening after escaping through a window, the press release said. He was treated on scene and did not need to be taken to the hospital.

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Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life

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Christy Viola Comer, left, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, listens to testimony during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An Anderson County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of J.C. Copeland, an 83-year-old Rocky Top man, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus an extra 20 years.

Christy Viola Comer, 41, entered the guilty plea in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.

Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats

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A Secret City Academy student was charged with terrorism and other crimes after allegedly threatening to shoot people and use a bomb at the school on Friday, Anderson County’s district attorney general said. This is the fourth student charged with similar crimes in three incidents this school year.

Seventh Judicial District DA Dave Clark said the alleged oral threat by the juvenile briefly caused restrictions on movements within the school. The Secret City Academy is on the Oak Ridge High School campus.

“Nobody was hurt, and no firearm or explosive device was involved,” Clark said in a press release.

The alleged threats were investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, Anderson County Juvenile Court, and the DA’s office.

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Police ask for help finding missing man

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Arthur Lee

The Oak Ridge Police Department and several area agencies are searching for a missing Oak Ridge man near Melton Hill Lake.

Arthur Lee, 59, was last seen Sunday and may have been in the area of Melton Lake Drive and Melton Lake Peninsula, a press release said.

ORPD, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office began searching for Lee around 11 a.m. Tuesday, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department help search with its boat on Melton Hill Lake.

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Controlled burns scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. (Submitted photo)

Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation.

“The public should expect to see some smoke from this activity,” a press release said. “However, smoke in this and other areas in the region could also be the result of prescribed burns currently being undertaken by other federal and state agencies.”

DOE will be starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation on the Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, the press release said.

Beginning this week and continuing through mid-April 2021 as weather permits, controlled burns will take place at:

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Passenger dies after THP pursuit

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The passenger has died after a two-vehicle crash during a police pursuit in Anderson County on Sunday, January 30.

It’s the second death after the police chase and fatal crash near the intersection of Mountain Road and Highway 441 at about 2 p.m. that Sunday. The driver, Elijah Morley of Dandridge, died after the crash.

On Wednesday, Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general, said Morley’s passenger, Dustin Dienst of Morristown, died Tuesday night. He had been hospitalized since the crash.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper, Austin Dean, was also injured in the crash. Clark said earlier that Dean was treated and released from a hospital.

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Woman charged with murder in husband’s death after 7 years

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Samantha Hendley

The wife of Thomas Steven “T.S.” Thrasher has been charged with first-degree murder after his death in 2014, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Samantha Anne Hendley, 35, of Harriman, was indicted last week by the Anderson County Grand Jury, and she was arrested and booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Monday morning, the TBI said. Her bond has been set at $1 million.

The indictment and arrest followed seven years of casework by TBI special agents, the agency said.

Thrasher, 29, was shot and killed inside his home at Rolling Hills Apartments on December 8, 2014.

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