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Courts: Attempted murder charges sent to grand jury after apartment shooting

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Two attempted first-degree murder charges filed against a 20-year-old woman after a shooting in an Oak Ridge apartment parking lot in May have been sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

The charges against Kali Annabelle Bailey, whose last known address was in Powell, were bound over, or sent to, the grand jury, after a 100-minute preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, July 31. A victim and a police officer both testified during the preliminary hearing.

Bailey is accused of shooting into a Kia Optima car that had two people inside and was backed into a parking space in the Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 11:03 p.m. May 6 as part of a possible dispute between two women over a man, which was described in court as jealousy or a “love triangle.”

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In depth: Cromwell gets new trial in fatal July 4 fireworks crash

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Lee Harold Cromwell (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Lee Harold Cromwell (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Lee Harold Cromwell, who was convicted of homicide and aggravated assault after a fatal crash after fireworks three years ago, is eligible for a new trial on the aggravated assault charges, a state appeals court said Tuesday.

After reviewing several issues raised on appeal, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville upheld Cromwell’s one conviction of reckless vehicular homicide and his five-year sentence on that charge.

But citing misleading and confusing jury instructions, the court ordered a new trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on the eight convictions of reckless aggravated assault. Those convictions, which were reversed by the appeals court on Tuesday, had helped to add seven years to Cromwell’s sentence.

“After our review, we affirm the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant’s convictions and the trial court properly sentenced the defendant, but (we) conclude the trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury as to reckless aggravated assault,” the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals said. “Therefore, we vacate the defendant’s eight convictions for reckless aggravated assault and remand this case to the trial court for a new trial.”

The rest of this in-depth content, which includes exclusive coverage of oral arguments and the jury instructions, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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Please let us know if you advertise on Oak Ridge Today, have recently contributed, or subscribe through PayPal or check payments, but you have not yet been added to our website as a member. You can send an email to [email protected] to be added. Thank you!

Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Charged with attempted murder, woman allegedly conspired to lock, erase cell phone

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

The Heiskell woman who was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot into an occupied vehicle in Oak Ridge on May 6 is now accused of conspiring with her grandmother and one of the victims to lock or erase her cell phone, which is being held in evidence at the Oak Ridge Police Department.

After the shooting, Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment.

New charges related to the alleged attempt to lock or erase her cell phone were filed Monday. The charges are criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, and solicitation of tampering with evidence. Like the original charges, they are all felony charges.

Bailey’s bond on the original charges had been set at $250,000. Bond on the new charges is $25,000.

Bailey’s alleged co-conspirators, Becky A. Bell of Heiskell and Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, have also been charged. Bell is Bailey’s grandmother, and Davis is a victim of the alleged shooting, according to court records. [Read more…]

Hearing set for Tuesday in attempted murder case

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

A hearing date has been set for Tuesday for a woman charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot into an occupied vehicle in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Oak Ridge on Sunday, May 6.

The hearing for Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, of Powell, has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The hearing date was scheduled on the assumption that Bailey is not able to be released on a $250,000 bond.

But it’s not clear if the date might change if Bailey is able to be released on bail, or if any of the subpoenas that might be issued in the case are not served between now and Tuesday. Two subpoenas were issued to victims in court on Tuesday this week, according to Anderson County court records. There is one more subpoena that has been issued, but not served, and that’s to an Oak Ridge Police Department officer, the court records said.

Bailey had allegedly threatened to shoot one of the two people in the vehicle, a female passenger, several months before she allegedly shot into it on May 6, authorities said. Bailey had reportedly tried to argue with the female victim, Bailee D. Bolden of Oak Ridge, about her relationship with the male victim, Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, authorities said. [Read more…]

Warrants: Woman charged with attempted murder had threatened to shoot victim

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

A Powell woman who has been charged with attempted murder had threatened to shoot a female victim several months before she allegedly shot into a vehicle occupied by two people in Oak Ridge on Sunday night, and the defendant had reportedly tried to argue with the female victim about her relationship with a male victim, authorities said.

A bullet path in the vehicle that was shot into on Sunday night grazed the driver’s seat, very close to the head and shoulder area of the male victim, Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christopher W. Wallace.

The female victim, Bailee D. Bolden of Oak Ridge, was hit with glass fragments from the windshield, the affidavits said.

Charged in the case is Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, of Powell. She has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment. Those are all felony charges.

Bailey was located and arrested Monday. Her bond has been set at $320,000, and she remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Two injured by flying glass in shooting at Manhattan Apartments

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Two people were injured by flying glass but were not hit by a bullet in a shooting reported at Manhattan Apartments in Woodland on Sunday night, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at about 11:03 p.m. Sunday at the apartments between South Rutgers Avenue and North Purdue Avenue, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. The ORPD had received reports of gunfire in the area.

“Officers determined shots were fired into a vehicle with two people inside,” the ORPD said. “Neither person was struck by a bullet, but both were injured by flying glass debris from the shattered car window. The two victims were treated on the scene by Anderson County EMS.” [Read more…]

Man indicted on robbery, kidnapping, assault charges in Hibachi Burger robbery

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Dominique Leshawn Gordon

Dominique Leshawn Gordon

 

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault charges after an alleged robbery at Hibachi Burger in Grove Center in January 2017.

A 19-count indictment was filed against Dominique Leshawn Gordon, 22, by the Anderson County Grand Jury on April 3.

Gordon pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on April 30.

His indictment includes one count of aggravated robbery; one count of especially aggravated kidnapping with a weapon when a child, who was then two years old, was involved; eight counts of aggravated kidnapping while committing a felony, confining the victims and interfering with their liberty; and nine counts of aggravated assault while using a gun. [Read more…]

Man charged with attempted murder

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Jeremy Jon Bessette

Jeremy Jon Bessette

 

One Oak Ridge man was beaten in the head with a wrench on Thursday after a social media conversation, and another was charged with attempted murder after an alleged assault on South Walker Lane.

The victim, Andrew Steelman, had been talking to someone on social media that he thought was the girlfriend of Jeremy Jon Bessette, 40, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

But it turned out that Steelman was not talking to Bessette’s girlfriend, but rather to Bessette, who was posing online as his girlfriend while Steelman “flirted with her,” the affidavits said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department first learned of the incident when they were notified of a physical disturbance on South Walker Lane at 1:53 p.m. Thursday. There, a witness said a man, later identified as Bessette, entered the home and began hitting another man in the head with what appeared to be a wrench, according to the affidavits, which were filed by ORPD Officer Perry Lewis.

The alleged assailant then got into a dark-colored Pontiac and fled, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Woman receives three-year sentence in drug overdose

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Heather Marie Rau

Heather Marie Rau

 

An Oak Ridge woman received a three-year prison sentence in a plea agreement on Monday after a drug overdose that reportedly involved a fentanyl analogue last year left a man unconscious on a hallway floor with a very weak pulse and unable to breathe on his own.

Heather Mariue Rau, 30, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday to charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with illegal narcotics (acrylfentanyl), promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drugs for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges were from two separate indictments against Rau last year.

A second, duplicate charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Rau must pay court costs and fines that appear to total close to $9,000, according to criminal judgements filed by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk. She will receive credit for time served after being jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton since February 16, 2017. As a standard offender, her release eligibility has been set at 30 percent. [Read more…]

Man accused of robbing pregnant woman, kicking her in stomach

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Jordan Lamar Young

Jordan Lamar Young

 

An Oak Ridge man allegedly broke into an apartment on Utica Circle on Monday, threatened a pregnant woman while brandishing a folding pocket knife, and demanded prescriptions and cash, Anderson County court records said. When the woman resisted, the court records said, she was thrown to the ground and kicked in the stomach, and the man jammed his knee into her back to try to get her to comply.

“The victim was in fear of great bodily harm or death to herself or her unborn child,” according to affidavits filed Tuesday in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The affidavits, filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Investigator A. Marvell Moore, said the victim is seven months pregnant.

After the alleged home invasion robbery, the suspect, Jordan Lamar Young, 31, of Tuskegee Drive, fled the apartment with the pregnant woman’s prescription medication and $301 in cash, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Man charged with attempted murder in alleged baseball bat attack

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Clayton Perry Jones

Clayton Perry Jones

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:45 p.m. March 22. 

An Anderson County man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly beating another man in the head, arms, and back with a baseball bat at a car wash in Oliver Springs in the summer of 2016, according to court records.

Clayton Perry Jones, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, March 13, on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a weapon, according to court records. He has an arraignment scheduled for March 26 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

Jones is accused of beating Brett Blank in the head, back, and arms with a baseball bat as Blank was cleaning his vehicle at the Sportsman Car Wash on East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 14, 2016, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on July 13, 2017.

The alleged beating was stopped by a witness with a handgun who was also at the car wash cleaning his vehicle, which was parked in front of Blank’s vehicle, according to the affidavit. The armed witness, Hank Mullins, saw Jones hitting Blank with the baseball bat, and Mullins revealed his concealed-carry handgun to deter the fight and told them to “Stop! Stop! Stop!” according to the affidavit. Both Blank and Jones then ran in opposite directions, said the affidavit, which was filed by Oliver Springs Police Department Patrolman Samuel Seiber. [Read more…]

Two charged with aggravated assault in West Bryn Mawr shooting

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Terris Lavonte Marsh

Terris Lavonte Marsh

 

A man and woman, both 18 years old, have been charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in the shooting that was reported into a house with five people inside, including three juveniles, on West Bryn Mawr Circle in west Oak Ridge on November 15, according to court records.

The suspect has been identified as Terris Lavonte Marsh, 18, a transient in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

In the warrants, Oak Ridge Police Department Detective A. Marvell Moore said Marsh was identified through interviews, physical evidence, and social media posts, and he was interviewed at the Knox County Detention Facility.

After he was advised of his Miranda rights, Marsh said he shot into the home on West Bryn Mawr Circle because of an ongoing dispute with one of the residents, Moore said in the affidavits attached to the warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

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