The Clinton Police Department is searching for a missing 14-year-old, Cassandra Faye Moore.
The 14-year-old Clinton girl reported missing on Thursday has been located, and she is safe and has been been returned to her home, authorities said.
The Clinton Police Department posted the update about Cassandra Faye Moore on its Facebook page. Moore had been last seen in the early morning hours on Thursday, February 11, according to authorities.
Note: This story was last updated at 8:50 p.m.
NORRIS—A fisherman who fell overboard on the Clinch River below Norris Dam on Sunday afternoon has his nephew to thank for quick action that undoubtedly saved his life, officials said.
Cecil Branscom, 70, of Dublin, Virginia, and his nephew Scott Branscom, 48, of Knoxville, launched their boat at Peach Orchard Access Area on the Clinch River on Sunday afternoon and headed upstream toward Norris Dam. When they reached the weir dam at around 2 p.m., they prepared to begin fishing when the boat’s engine hit a rock in the water, sending Cecil overboard from the front of the vessel into 48-degree water.
Scott Branscom managed to get his uncle back into the boat. Cecil Branscom was wearing several layers of clothing that was saturated from the frigid water, and he was not wearing a life jacket, the press release said. [Read more…]
The Edgemoor Road exit ramp off South Illinois Avenue is pictured above after snow fell on Friday morning, Feb. 12, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Authorities reported no major problems when snow fell in Oak Ridge and Anderson County on Friday morning, although some area school districts closed.
Key Springs Road in north Oak Ridge was temporarily closed at the request of the Oak Ridge Police Department after a tractor-trailer got stuck coming up the steep, curvy road.
It wasn’t necessarily weather-related, and it wasn’t clear how long the road would be closed, said Pat Fallon, Oak Ridge Public Works division manager.
Four trucks with snow plows were out clearing roads and spreading salt. No problems had been reported for at least an hour, Fallon said at about noon Friday. [Read more…]
James Michael Cox
Note: This story was last updated at 9:15 a.m. Feb. 12.
A former Anderson County commissioner, commission chair, and teacher has been indicted on one count of theft over $60,000 from a church in Rocky Top, authorities said.
James Michael “Mike” Cox surrendered at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday afternoon, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said.
Cox was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on the Class B felony on February 2.
The theft of about $100,000 is alleged to have occurred from Longfield Baptist Church in Rocky Top, the former Lake City, between June 1, 2011, and December 1, 2014, Clark said. [Read more…]
The Clinton Police Department is searching for a missing 14-year-old girl, Cassandra Faye Moore.
The Clinton Police Department is searching for a missing 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Cassandra Faye Moore, a Clinton resident, was last seen in the early morning hours Thursday, February 11, authorities said.
If you have any information about her location, you are asked to please contact Detective Sergeant Danielle Alexander at the Clinton Police Department at (865) 457-3112.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bronx Washington
An Oak Ridge man has pleaded guilty to murder- and robbery-related charges in what police described as a marijuana deal that ended with one man dead.
Bronx Shavon Washington, who is now 22, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday. He entered the guilty pleas on a reduced charge of facilitation to commit second-degree murder, a Class B felony, and a reduced charge of facilitation to commit aggravated robbery, a Class C felony. Washington received a total 14-year sentence on those two charges as well as a drug possession charge. He was the last of three defendants to plead guilty in the case.
Washington and two brothers, Brandon Javon Brooms, now 25, and James Stefan Brooms, now 27, had each been indicted in March 2012 on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery in the death of Antonio “Tony” Phillips, 22. [Read more…]
No one was injured when the Oak Ridge Fire Department extinguished a fire in the bed of a commercial landscaping truck on Melton Lake Drive on Monday morning, authorities said.
The truck fire was reported at about 8:30 a.m. Monday on Melton Lake Drive near Rivers Run Drive. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded.
The truck belonged to Eastwood Landscaping of Knoxville.
Melton Lake Drive was closed from 8:30 a.m. until just after 11 a.m. due to the fire, a press release said. The exact cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Thomas Stephen “T.S.” Thrasher
The investigation of the death of an Oak Ridge man in an apartment in December 2014 remains open and ongoing, a state official said Monday.
Thomas Steven Thrasher Jr., 29, also known as “T.S.,” died December 8, 2014. He was found dead in a second-floor apartment when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible intruder at about 4:40 a.m. that Monday at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive.
Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said that month that a criminal investigation was under way, but there had not been an arrest and no charges had been filed. Clark said at the time that an autopsy had been performed by the Anderson County medical examiner.
“As a result of the circumstances, the Oak Ridge Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been conducting a criminal investigation,” Clark said. “There has been no arrest or charges filed at this time.” [Read more…]
Scott Benjamin Pike (November 2014 photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
A 32-year-old Maine man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of an Oliver Springs man after a drug deal in May 2011.
Scott Benjamin Pike, of Lewiston, Maine, entered the guilty pleas in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday, January 29.
Pike received a 20-year sentence on the second-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, and a 12-year sentence on the aggravated robbery charge, a Class B felony. There is no probation on either count, according to court records. The sentences will run concurrently. He will receive credit for time served.
Pike was indicted on a first-degree murder charge on February 7, 2012, by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Also indicted were Ronny Blake Hamrick of Oliver Springs and Tristin Jane Dayon of Lewiston, Maine. A first-degree murder charge could include a premeditated killing or an unlawful death that occurred during a robbery or attempted robbery, according to the indictments. [Read more…]
An Oak Ridge High School teacher has been suspended from all teaching duties without pay while information reported to Oak Ridge Schools is investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department, an official said Friday.
Officials have not identified the teacher.
“If the teacher is vindicated or reinstated following the investigation, the teacher shall be paid full salary for the period of the suspension,” Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a brief statement issued in response to questions from reporters. [Read more…]
Matthew Ketron
The Knoxville man who crashed a Volkswagen Beetle into Dunkin’ Donuts on Wednesday told Oak Ridge police he had consumed several mixed liquor drinks as well as beer before driving, according to court records.
Matthew Chance Ketron, 32, had a strong odor like that of an alcoholic beverage “coming from his person,” as well as glassy bloodshot eyes, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Torrence said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Ketron’s speech was also slow and staggered, Torrence said.
Ketron told police that he had been on his way to a staff meeting at Jet’s Pizza, according to the warrants. Jet’s is located next to Dunkin’ Donuts in a small shopping center on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
But when he arrived, Ketron said, there was no meeting, so he attempted to leave, the warrants said. However, when he rounded the east side of the building, Ketron said he lost control of his yellow 2000 VW Beetle and crashed into the building. [Read more…]
A man is facing charges after crashing a Volkswagen Beetle into the side of Dunkin’ Donuts in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, authorities said. Pictured above are members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Community Development. The drive-through window is to the left of the VW. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 6 p.m. Feb. 4.
A man is facing charges after crashing a Volkswagen Beetle into the side of Dunkin’ Donuts in Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Officers charged the man, Matthew Ketron, 32, of Knoxville, with two counts of reckless endangerment and driving under the influence, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
The crash was reported at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday. At least five people were inside Dunkin’ Donuts at the time, the ORPD said. Two customers were treated for injuries and released at the scene. Officers said the building, which is in a small shopping center on Oak Ridge Turnpike, was heavily damaged.
The yellow 2000 Volkswagen Beetle crashed into a side wall, between the drive-through window and the glass at the front of Dunkin’ Donuts. But it’s not clear whether the driver had stopped at the drive-through. [Read more…]
