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Man facing seven charges after three-vehicle crash on bridge

Posted at 5:00 pm September 20, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A 61-year-old Claxton man is facing seven charges, including vehicular assault and driving under the influence, after a crash involving three vehicles on the Edgemoor Road bridge in July, according to court records.

The crash was reported July 10, according to affidavits filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ray Faircloth in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: Austin Keathley, crash, driving left of center, driving on a suspended license, driving under the influence, Edgemoor Road, Edmond Brand Sr., felony reckless endangerment, financial responsibility, improper passing, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police, Ray Faircloth, vehicular assault

Teen allegedly killed mother after she took away phone

Posted at 9:45 pm September 17, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Shawn Willis

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder. He allegedly shot his mother, Sandy K. Willis, 38, in the left side of her head as she lay in bed asleep on Andy’s Ridge Road between Briceville and Rocky Top on Monday morning April 20, 2020.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Juvenile Court, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Brian Hunt, Don Scuglia, Emily Faye Abbott, first-degree murder, Sandy K. Willis, Shawn Tyler Willis

ORPD: Two arrested after crashing stolen truck

Posted at 12:02 am July 27, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Two people were arrested after allegedly crashing a stolen pickup truck in Oak Ridge and trying to run from police Monday afternoon, officers said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department tried to stop the pickup truck on South Illinois Avenue at Tulsa Road at about 1 p.m. Monday, a press release said.

“The driver of the pickup truck began to flee, and officers discontinued the attempted traffic stop,” the press release said.

The pickup truck continued driving at a high rate of speed and crashed into a vehicle at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue at South Rutgers Avenue, the press release said. One tire blew out, and the pickup truck continued driving on the remaining three tires toward Edgemoor Road, the release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: crash, Edgemoor Road, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, South Illinois Avenue, stolen pickup

Blackwell to oversee courthouse security

Posted at 2:03 pm July 22, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Marty Blackwell, left, is pictured above receiving his new rank with Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Don Layton. (Submitted photo)

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has promoted Marty Blackwell to the rank of corporal, and he will oversee courthouse security, a press release said.

Blackwell has been in law enforcement for 33 years, the press release said. He most recently served as court officer for General Sessions Judge Don A. Layton.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, courthouse security, Don Layton, Marty Blackwell

Police asking for information about arson on Waddell Circle

Posted at 9:34 am July 21, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image by Oak Ridge Police Department

The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for tips about an arson on Waddell Circle on Sunday, July 11.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department had responded to a residential fire in a quadplex that evening. (That was the same evening widespread power outages and partial power outages were reported in Oak Ridge.)

The fire on Waddell Circle was later determined to be set intentionally, and ORPD investigators responded to the fire.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: arson, fire, Marvell Moore, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD

Statutory rape, misconduct charges dismissed against former officer after probation

Posted at 5:42 pm July 18, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Charges against Cassen Jackson-Garrison, right, a former Oak Ridge Police Department police officer, were dismissed this year after two years of supervised probation. Jackson-Garrison had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017. His attorney, Greg Isaacs, left, said Jackson-Garrison had accepted responsibility for the allegations, and he compared Jackson-Garrison’s childhood story to the one portrayed in the movie “The Blind Side.” The probation was a judicial diversion, allowing the felony charges to be dismissed if Jackson-Garrison complied with the terms and conditions. Jackson-Garrison and Isaacs are pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a two-year probation, charges were dismissed this year against a former Oak Ridge Police Department officer who had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017.

His attorney successfully asked for judicial diversion for Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 36, more than three years ago, although the state opposed it. The judicial diversion gave Jackson-Garrison, a former star football player, the opportunity to have the felony charges dismissed and expunged, or removed from his record, at the end of his probationary period. But he had to comply with the terms and conditions. The two-year supervised probation ended in December 2019.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, Dave Clark, Don Elledge, Gregory Isaacs, judicial diversion, Oak Ridge Police Department, official misconduct, ORPD, plea agreement, sentencing hearing, statutory rape, supervised probation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tony Craighead

For members: Man charged with three store robberies

Posted at 3:11 pm July 17, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three convenience store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were allegedly robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.

The first two alleged robberies have already been reported. They were at the Marathon Market on Edgemoor Road in Claxton on December 29 and the J&C Market on East Tennessee Avenue in Oak Ridge on January 4.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, J&C Market, Jacob Simmons, Joshua Cardwell, Kevin Craig, Marathon Market, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Paula's Market, robberies, robbery, Trae Sweeten, Tyrone N. Partridge

Appeals court upholds attempted murder conviction

Posted at 2:11 pm July 14, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019
McKinnley Earl McGee, 51, of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above at right, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, for an attempted murder during a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. At left is defense attorney Curtis Isabell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld an attempted murder conviction against an Oak Ridge man who received the maximum 20-year prison sentence for a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she reportedly would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment.

McKinnley McGee was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with serious bodily injury two years ago, after a one-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in July 2019. He was convicted of stabbing and trying to kill Machel Elaine Avery on Utica Circle in Oak Ridge on January 12, 2018.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Tennessee Tagged With: aggravated assault, Alan E. Glenn, Anderson County Criminal Court, Appeals Court, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Camille R. McMullen, Christopher Wallace, Curtis Isabell, James Curwood Witt Jr., Machel Elaine Avery, Matthew Johnston, McKinnley McGee, Oak Ridge Police Department, Renee W. Turner, Roy Frank Roberts, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Tony Craighead, Tracey Vought Williams

Two taken to hospital after three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road bridge

Posted at 11:31 pm July 9, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Two drivers were taken to a hospital with serious injuries after a three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road bridge on Friday evening.

The crash was reported on State Route 170 at about 8:45 p.m. Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. The bridge crosses the Clinch River near the Bull Run Fossil Plant.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: crash, Edgemoor Road, Edgemoor Road bridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, State Route 170

For members: Three plead guilty, one sentenced to 10 years in drug conspiracy after overdose death

Posted at 7:16 pm July 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death due to fentanyl in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

The Knoxville woman, Katarina S. Carinci, pleaded guilty last year. She was sentenced to 125 months, or 10 years and five months, on July 1 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville by District Court Judge Thomas Varlan. Her prison sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.

Filed Under: Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, United States Tagged With: Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Related Death Task Force, fentanyl, heroin, Jaleen G. Allen, Katarina S. Carinci, Knox County Regional Forensics Center, Knoxville Police Department, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, Samuel Hammond, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Thomas Varlan, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court

Soil being removed for Y-12 fire station

Posted at 4:17 pm July 3, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Soil is being removed for a new fire station at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by Y-12)

About 15,000 cubic yards of soil needs to be excavated to flatten a site for a new fire station at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and almost half of the soil has been removed so far, officials said this week.

The new fire station is one of several under construction at Y-12. Others include an emergency operations center and the Uranium Processing Facility. There was a groundbreaking for the fire station in April, after construction had already started on the emergency operations center.

The fire station replaces one built in 1947, and the EOC will be the home of the site’s operations center, which is currently located in a World War II-era building.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Police and Fire, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: fire station, Y-12 National Security Complex

ORFD has new truck to fight brush fires

Posted at 4:39 pm July 1, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has a new truck designed for putting out brush fires. (Photo by ORFD)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has a new truck designed to fight brush fires.

The new vehicle, Brush 1, was purchased by the city, and the equipment was purchased with a grant received from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, for off-site emergency planning and response in the amount of $16,000.

It has a 300-gallon per minute Hale pump with a 300-gallon capacity water tank and a five-gallon foam storage tank, a press release said.

It can pump water through a bumper-mounted nozzle, which is operated via joystick inside the cab, while the vehicle is being driven so fire along the roadside can be contained and extinguished. This prevents having to deploy a hose line for a small area and helps to cover a larger area in less time, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: brush fire, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Energy

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