Oak Ridge Today

POST asks DAs, feds to investigate whether Akagi violated state, federal law

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Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Chief’s attorney calls it one more effort to vilify Akagi

The organization that certifies police officers in Tennessee has asked state and federal authorities to investigate whether Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

The April 27 letter from Ray Farris, assistant director of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, was sent to Mike Flynn, district attorney general in the Fifth Judicial District in Maryville; Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Clinton; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“Documents provided to our office indicate that an order of protection was issued by the Blount County Court against Chief Akagi on April 19, 2012,” Farris said in the letter. “During the effective period of this order of protection, Chief Akagi submitted his firearms qualifications scores to the Commission, which appears to be a violation of the aforementioned order of protection.”

But Tasha Blakney, an attorney for the police chief, has said Akagi was not prohibited from carrying a firearm.

“I am absolutely confident that there has been no violation of state or federal law in this family law matter with regard to the ex parte order of protection that was temporarily entered and subsequently dismissed,” Blakney said Thursday. “They simply don’t carry any implications for an individual’s Second Amendment rights. That’s just a function of understanding the way that Tennessee law works.” [Read more…]

TBI report shows overall drop in crime, but murder reports up in Tenn.

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NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2014 Crime in Tennessee report on Monday, and it showed an overall decline in crime, but reported murders increased and arrests for driving under the influence were up slightly.

The annual study compiles data reported from each law enforcement agency in the state, providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the successes and challenges facing communities across Tennessee, a press release said.

Among the report’s findings: [Read more…]

Former Scott County deputy nabbed in TBI theft, misconduct case

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Cody Scott Yancey

Cody Scott Yancey

Special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have obtained indictments for a former Scott County Sheriff’s Department deputy accused of misconduct, authorities said. The deputy allegedly entered his department’s temporary evidence storage and removed multiple pieces of drug evidence, the TBI said.

At the request of Eighth District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents began investigating Cody Scott Yancey on October 16, 2014, a press release said.

“During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that on several occasions between September 22 and October 14, Yancey made illegal entry into his department’s temporary evidence storage and removed multiple pieces of drug evidence,” the release said. [Read more…]

Former police officer charged with aggravated assault after Roane shooting

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Jeremy Alexander Gambrell

Jeremy Alexander Gambrell

A former police officer was charged with two counts of aggravated assault after he allegedly shot his ex-wife and shot at another man at a home near Blair Road in Roane County on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

Jeremy Alexander Gambrell, 41, of Harriman, was allegedly armed with a handgun when he went to the home of his ex-wife, Jenny Gambrell, at 142 Bridges Drive on Saturday afternoon, according to arrest warrants filed in Roane County General Sessions Court.

Jeremy’s father David Gambrell told the Roane County Sheriff’s Office that he heard gunshots and saw Jenny on the ground, and Jeremy was next to her holding her hand, the warrants said.

“David stated that Jeremy was apologizing to Jenny, and telling her that he loved her,” the warrants said. [Read more…]

THP: Man killed, boy injured in Wednesday crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Heiskell man was killed and a 12-year-old boy was injured in a single-vehicle crash last week, according to a report released Sunday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Ronald Henderson, 65, of Heiskell was not wearing a seat belt when his 1994 Ford Mustang ran off the road and struck a utility pole Wednesday morning, according to the THP. The investigating trooper indicated in his report that a seat belt could have saved Henderson’s life. [Read more…]

One airlifted to UT hospital after two-vehicle rollover crash

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Harriman Highway Jeep Rollover

The driver of a Jeep SUV that turned over was airlifted to a hospital in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash on Harriman Highway west of Oliver Springs on Friday evening. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:36 a.m. Feb. 28.

OLIVER SPRINGS—The driver of a Jeep SUV that turned over was airlifted to a hospital in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash on Harriman Highway just west of Oliver Springs on Friday evening.

The crash between the Jeep and a Dodge Ram pickup occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Friday on Harriman Highway (Highway 61) near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County.

The Jeep’s driver was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant Lucious Howard. The driver was later identified, after his family had been notified, as Joshua Brown, 33, of Oliver Springs. His condition was unknown early Saturday morning. [Read more…]

THP: Woman drank bourbon, took Xanax before Edgemoor Road crash

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Edgemoor Road Crash Valentine's Day 2015

One person was trapped in a car, and rescuers had to remove a car door from this 2000 Honda Accord after a nighttime crash on Valentine’s Day. The collision pushed this car about 35 yards into the parking lot of the Shell gas station on Edgemoor Road.

 

The Knoxville woman who allegedly caused a crash on Edgemoor Road that injured two on Valentine’s Day told a state trooper that she consumed two drinks of bourbon and took Xanax not too long before the crash, and she also uses heroin, authorities said.

One person was trapped in a car after the crash, and rescuers had to remove a car door, said Steven Newby, deputy chief of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department. He said two people were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville in stable condition.

The Knoxville woman accused of causing the 9:45 p.m. crash, Jill A. Graham, 39, was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, and vehicular assault. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Saturday afternoon. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs teen killed in motorcycle-car crash

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An Oliver Springs teenager riding a motorcycle was killed in a Monday morning crash with a car.

Aaron Gunter, 17, of Oliver Springs, was riding westbound on a 2005 Suzuki dirt bike on State Highway 62 near Coalfield when he was hit by a 2008 Kia Sportage at about 6:41 a.m. Monday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary report.

The Kia was also traveling westbound and driven by Sharon Morton, 75, of Andersonville. [Read more…]

Updated: KPD pursuit passes through Anderson, ends in Union

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Jeremy Shane Howard

Jeremy Shane Howard

The police chase that passed through Anderson County on Thursday night started at a Weigel’s store in Knoxville and ended with an arrest in Union County.

The Knoxville Police Department said officers observed a suspicious man at Weigel’s on Callahan and Central Avenue Pike on Thursday night. The man was observed by officers on special assignment for recent robberies in north Knoxville.

The suspect, who was wearing surgical gloves, had been in the store for an extended period of time acting suspiciously before leaving without purchasing any items, the KPD said. [Read more…]

Reports: Man drags constable while fleeing, crashes into deputy’s cruiser

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Larry Eugene Ward

Larry Eugene Ward

An Anderson County man suspected of fleeing a crash on Clinton Highway last week was found slumped over with blood on his face in a damaged car that reeked inside of alcohol, authorities said. The suspect, Larry Eugene Ward, fled from officers, and he dragged three emergency responders with him and almost ran over a constable’s legs before crashing into three other vehicles on Bull Run Road, including a deputy’s patrol car, authorities said.

The constable, Jennings F. Foust, 64, was dragged almost 50 feet before Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Robert J. Collins was able to pull him from the vehicle, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

While trying to flee, Ward crashed into three more vehicles, including Collins’ patrol car and Foust’s car, and hit or nearly hit an ambulance, authorities said.

Ward, 34, of Clinton, remained jailed Wednesday at the Anderson County Detention Facility on a slew of charges including aggravated assault, evading arrest, reckless driving, public intoxication, and driving under the influence. [Read more…]

THP: Man injured in December crash dies

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Note: This story was updated at 2:41 p.m. Jan. 18.

A man injured in a late December accident on Interstate 40 in Roane County died from his injuries, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The crash happened on I-40 near Gallaher Road in Kingston on Saturday, December 27.

Troopers said that Josephine Yeager, 18, of Dayton, was driving a 2004 Kia minivan in the far right eastbound lane near mile marker 356 and was trying to change lanes into the far left lane when she hit a 2014 Cadillac sedan driven by Norma L. Craig, 70, of Cookeville. The collision forced the Cadillac off the left side of roadway into the center median, THP Trooper Alexander Evans said in a report. [Read more…]

Former TBI fugitive charged with kidnapping, murder of missing Campbell County woman

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Lonnie Vann

Lonnie Vann

KNOXVILLE–A former Top 10 fugitive who had been wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for armed robbery has now been charged with killing a woman who had been reported missing in Campbell County more than a month ago.

Lonnie Lee Vann, 44, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, the TBI said in a press release Wednesday, the same day a Campbell County grand jury returned the indictments.

At the request of 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents, helped by investigators from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee, began investigating the disappearance of Rhonda Daugherty on December 4. The 49-year woman went missing from her home on December 2. [Read more…]