Oak Ridge Today

Graves Gap fire burned more than 300 acres

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The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap along Highway 116 in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap along Highway 116 in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

GRAVES GAP—The mountaintop fire at Graves Gap in north Anderson County burned more than 300 acres this week, a state official said Thursday afternoon.

The fire off New River Highway (Highway 116) burned about 377 acres, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester in the Tennessee Division of Forestry Administration’s East Tennessee District.

It was officially called the Switchback Fire. Graves Gap is near the top of a mountain reached by a series of switchbacks on New River Highway. It is between Frost Bottom Road and Briceville Highway, which connect Oliver Springs and Briceville, and New River and Rosedale.

The cause of the Graves Gap fire is under investigation, Waters said. He wasn’t aware of any structures that were endangered, although there are homes and churches near the mountaintop. [Read more…]

Forest fire northwest of Oliver Springs grew to 300 acres

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The forest fire reported on Big Brushy Mountain between Oliver Springs and Petros on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, grew to 300 acres, and it was reported to have containment lines around it on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The fire is pictured above from State Route 62 near Back Petros Road on Monday, Nov. 27. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The forest fire reported on Big Brushy Mountain between Oliver Springs and Petros on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, grew to 300 acres, and it was reported to have containment lines around it on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The fire is pictured above from State Route 62 near Back Petros Road on Monday, Nov. 27. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

PETROS—The forest fire reported between Oliver Springs and Petros on Sunday grew to 300 acres, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Firefighters were reported to have containment lines around the fire, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester in the Tennessee Division of Forestry Administration’s East Tennessee District.

The fire, about seven miles northwest of Oliver Springs and a few miles south of Petros, was reported at about 4 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, Waters said the cause was under investigation.

It hadn’t endangered any structures, Waters said Tuesday evening. [Read more…]

TBI identifies man who died in officer-involved shooting in Clinton on Wednesday

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Roger Raymond York Jr.

Roger Raymond York Jr.

 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has identified the man who died in an officer-involved shooting in Clinton on Wednesday as Roger Raymond York Jr.

York, 32, is listed as having a Clinton address in Anderson County jail records.

He died after he fired a weapon at Clinton Police Department officers on East Drive in Clinton on Wednesday night, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. One of the officers fired back, hitting York, who died, according to preliminary information from the TBI.

The three Clinton Police Department officers were not injured, the TBI said. The three officers were at the home in the 1000 block of East Drive after receiving information that a man with outstanding warrants was at the residence, the TBI said. [Read more…]

Preliminary information: Man dies after firing at officers & officer returns fire

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation responded to a shooting involving an officer on East Drive in Clinton, the TBI said late Wednesday night, Nov. 8, 2017.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation responded to a shooting involving an officer on East Drive in Clinton, the TBI said late Wednesday night, Nov. 8, 2017.

 

A man fired a weapon at officers on East Drive in Clinton on Wednesday night, and one of the officers fired back, hitting the man, who died, according to preliminary information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The three Clinton Police Department officers were not injured, the TBI said. The three officers were at the home in the 1000 block of East Drive after receiving information that a male subject with outstanding warrants was at the residence, the TBI said.

“Upon arrival, officers confirmed the individual was at the home and attempted to take him into custody,” the TBI said. “The subject attempted to evade officers by climbing out a window. At some point during the encounter, the subject fired a weapon at officers, which resulted in one of the officers returning fire, striking the subject. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The officers were not injured.” [Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to homicide in fatal crash

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Justin Lee Seeber

Justin Lee Seeber

 

An Anderson County man pleaded guilty on Monday to criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 19-year-old woman in a single-vehicle crash on US 25W in May 2013.

Justin Lee Seeber, 28, also pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton to reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

The crash on May 28, 2013, killed Amber Elaine Smith of Knoxville, a graduate of Hardin Valley Academy who attended Roane State Community College.

Seeber’s two-year sentence was suspended, and he was placed on state-supervised probation. As a standard offender, his release eligibility was set at 30 percent. If he successfully completes probation, he will not have to go to prison. But if he violates probation, he will have to serve prison time, authorities said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man killed in crash on Marlow Road

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An Oliver Springs man died in a head-on collision on Marlow Road on Tuesday night, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 10:19 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol fatality report.

The THP report said Brian E. Hooks, 33, of Oliver Springs was driving east on Marlow Road in a 1992 Nissan four-door when he crossed the center line, entered the westbound lane, and collided head-on with a 1993 Chevrolet four-door driven by Ryan J. Maston, 26, of Clinton.

The crash was investigated by THP Sergeant Scott Hines. [Read more…]

Woman pleads guilty in fatal car-pedestrian crash on Clinton Highway

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Destany Lynn Cotner

Destany Lynn Cotner

 

A Clinton woman has pleaded guilty in a fatal car-pedestrian hit-and-run crash on Clinton Highway in March.

Destany Lynn Cotner, 25, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday to two charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving under the influence (first offense).

As part of the plea agreement, two other charges were dismissed. Those charges were driving with a suspended or revoked license (first offense) and possession of contraband in a penal facility.

It was a plea by information, meaning Cotner had not yet been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Cotner initially told the Tennessee Highway Patrol that she was the driver the night of the crash, but she later changed her story to say her co-defendant Isaac Irwin, 26, also of Clinton, was the driver, according to a narrative filed in the case and attached to warrants.

Cotner received a two-year prison sentence on the conviction of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. As a standard offender, her release eligibility is 30 percent. Her sentence on this felony conviction was suspended, and she will be placed on supervised probation. [Read more…]

TBI: Clinton man indicted, accused of threatening three judges

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Ronald Taylor

Ronald Taylor

A Clinton man indicted by a grand jury this week is accused of threatening three judges, authorities said.

The indictment was announced Friday by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. An investigation by TBI special agents led to the indictment, a press release said.

The investigation started in November 2016 at the request of Seventh District Attorney General Dave Clark, the TBI said.

“TBI special agents began investigating threats made against three Anderson County judges,” the press release said. “The investigation revealed that Ronald Jennings Taylor, 52, wrote letters and mailed them to numerous individuals. In the letters, Taylor threatened to harm the judges.” [Read more…]

TBI investigating officer-involved shooting in Roane County

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating a shooting that involved a Roane County officer on Saturday morning. Ninth District Attorney General Russell Johnson requested the help of TBI agents, a press release said.

Preliminary information indicates the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday, when deputies from the Roane County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident at 352 Mays Valley Road, the TBI said.

“Deputies arriving at the scene were confronted with a male individual with a weapon, and that man, since identified as David Daugherty, 47, was shot during that confrontation,” the TBI said. Daugherty was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment, the TBI said. No deputies were injured during the incident.

Mays Valley Road is west of Oliver Springs and Blair Road, north of the western part of Oak Ridge, and south of Harriman Highway (State Route 61), which connects Oliver Springs and Harriman. [Read more…]

Meth, heroin thrown out car window, patrol cars hit, THP says

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Sixty-three grams of methamphetamine were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during a police chase that started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, authorities said. The vehicle occupants also threw out about one-half gram of heroin, and the car they were in almost hit two Anderson County patrol vehicles head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

That afternoon, THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd tried to stop a black Honda sedan for failure to yield the right of way and a turn signal violation at the intersection of State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) and Longmire Road in Clinton, near the Clinch River and Anderson County Detention Facility, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The 1992 Honda Accord had cut off a red pickup truck at the intersection, Lloyd said.

But the car refused to stop after he activated his emergency equipment, Lloyd said.

While the Honda was traveling down Longmire Road, the car occupants threw two items out the window, according to Lloyd:

  1. a baby formula can that contained a jar with about 63.93 grams of methamphetamine, and
  2. a black metal box that contained a set of scales, 0.53 grams of heroin, and multiple plastic bags.

[Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to homicide in fatal crash, but not clear if he had heart attack

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Pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, are Danny Lee Bean, right, and Tom Marshall, public defender in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, are defendant Danny Lee Bean, right, and Tom Marshall, public defender in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—A Marlow man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges of vehicular homicide in a fatal crash on Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow in November 2012, but it’s not clear if he might have had a heart attack, possibly before the crash.

Danny Lee Bean, 59, received an effective 10-year sentence for his guilty pleas in the head-on three-vehicle crash that killed Alberta Farrer, 56, and Pat Smith, 62.

Bean’s sentence was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation. He had to surrender his driver’s license, and he can’t drive.

Bean had hydrocodone and alprazolam in his system, but he had prescriptions for those medicines at therapeutic levels, attorneys said at a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday morning. Hydrocodone is a narcotic pain-reliever, and alprzazolam can be used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. It’s not clear whether a doctor had advised Bean to not drive after taking either medication.

Before the plea, a question had been raised about whether Bean had experienced a heart attack around the time of the crash, possibly before it. [Read more…]

Driver, passenger arrested after car allegedly flees from THP, strikes two patrol units

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Two Knoxville residents face charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, among other charges, after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and crashing into state and county patrol cars in Rocky Top on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The initial pursuit by THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd started on State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) at Longmire Road in east Clinton, near the Clinch River, according to a preliminary THP report. It continued onto northbound US 25 W (Lake City Highway), headed toward Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

After passing through Rocky Top, the chase headed north on SR 116 into Campbell County before looping back into Rocky Top, traveling down Cherry Bottom Road and Oak Grove Road before taking US 441 (Norris Freeway) back into the city, according to a narrative in the THP report and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

After the car, a 1992 Honda Accord, passed under Interstate 75, it tried to make a left turn onto Sunshine Drive in Rocky Top, the report said. But it was unable to complete the turn and the car struck a concrete curb, busting its left front tire, the report said. [Read more…]