Oak Ridge Today

Rocky Top woman allegedly started fire at home with children inside

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Sharon Lee Braden
Sharon Lee Braden

A Rocky Top woman allegedly started a fire at a home north of Clinton with an adult and two children inside in June, and she was arrested Monday, authorities said.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said Sharon Lee Braden, 48, of Rocky Top, was arrested on charges of aggravated arson, three counts of aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment. Those charges are related to a June fire at a home on Offutt Road, which is east of Lake City Highway (Highway 25/State Route 9) between Clinton and Rocky Top.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sean Flynn issued arrest warrants as a result of evidence collected during his investigation and statements made by an eyewitness, a press release said.

“The witness reported that he saw Braden start the fire, and when he approached her, she fled,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Man stabs dog, then starts fire, police say

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Sklyer Christian Griffin

Sklyer Christian Griffin

 

An Oak Ridge man stabbed a dog, which died from its wounds, and then started a fire in the living room of a home on Villanova Avenue on Friday, according to police.

Skyler C. Griffin, 19, has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated arson, and vandalism, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kenneth Prickett said Griffin came through the front door of an apartment on Villanova Avenue on Friday and physically attacked a 10-year-old male beagle mix that lives there.

“Griffin admitted to striking the dog with his hands and closed fists before pulling out his pocket knife and stabbing the dog in the neck and in the lower abdomen,” Prickett said. “The dog ran from the living room area and onto the outside balcony, where it succumbed to the stab wounds.” [Read more…]

TBI: Two juveniles charged with arson in deadly Sevier County wildfires

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Oak Ridge Fire Department mitchell-rd Sevier County

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Dec. 8.

Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the deadly wildfires in Sevier County last week, authorities said Wednesday. The fires burned more than 17,000 acres around the Chimney Tops trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Wears Valley. Fourteen people died, 176 were injured or made ill, and more than 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Local fire departments and law enforcement agencies responded to help fight the fires and provide search and rescue help, among other aid. The fire in the park, the most heavily visited in the United States, and the nearby tourist towns has been described as the largest in Tennessee in at least 100 years.

The charges announced Wednesday afternoon were filed after an investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; National Park Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF; and the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office. [Read more…]

Student lights desk on fire; RMS bomb threat appears unfounded, ORPD says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 3:58 p.m.

A 16-year-old student at the Alternative School used hand sanitizer and a lighter to ignite another student’s desktop on Wednesday, authorities said.

Students extinguished the fire, and the suspect was arrested at the Alternative School on Thursday. He was processed at the Oak Ridge Police Department on aggravated arson charges and taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility in Knoxville, a press release said.

In a separate incident, authorities determined that a report of an alleged bomb threat at Robertsville Middle School on Monday was unfounded, and no criminal charges are expected.

The ORPD said the desk was set on fire just before dismissal at the Alternative School on Wednesday. The Alternative School is next to the Oak Ridge High School and on the same campus. Staff at the Alternative School notified School Resource Office Sherrill Selby about the incident via e-mail. [Read more…]