Oak Ridge Today

AC man allegedly assaulted at jail files $1 million federal lawsuit

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U.S. District Court in Knoxville

The U.S. District Court in Knoxville is pictured above. (Photo by U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee)

An Anderson County man who was allegedly assaulted while an inmate at the county jail in October 2014 has filed a $1 million federal civil rights lawsuit against a former jailer and other parties, and a jury trial has been scheduled for June 20, 2017, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Before the lawsuit was filed, the former jailer, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Dustin McCoig, was indicted on a misdemeanor assault charge by the Anderson County Grand Jury. He was indicted in March 2015.

McCoig is named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, which was filed October 21, 2015, along with three other former Sheriff’s Department employees: Homer Bullman, Jason Wills, and Amber Stocks. Also named as defendants are Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Anderson County.

There is a separate case pending in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, where a jury trial on the assault charge against McCoig has been scheduled for April 13, 2016. [Read more…]

Roane Commission to appoint General Sessions judge on Monday

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Jeffery-Wicks

Jeffery H. Wicks

The Roane County Commission will appoint a new General Sessions Court judge during a special session on Monday.

The new judge will serve until the next general election in August and fill a vacancy created when Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam appointed General Sessions Court Judge Jeffery H. Wicks as Criminal Court judge for the Ninth Judicial District. Wicks is replacing former Criminal Court Judge E. Eugene Eblen, who retired December 31.

The Ninth Judicial District serves Loudon, Meigs, Morgan, and Roane counties. Eblen had been Criminal Court judge since 1978. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman convicted of abuse charge

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Note: This story was updated at 11:05 a.m. April 17.

Oak Ridge Today/WYSH Radio

An Oak Ridge woman will spend the next 15 to 25 years in a state penitentiary after an Anderson County jury needed less than 20 minutes Tuesday to convict her of aggravated child neglect following a trial in Anderson County Criminal Court.

Melissa Lopez, 37, was charged with failing or refusing to seek emergency medical care for her then-10-month-old son, who had suffered what the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office described as “horrible,” second-degree chemical or thermal burns to his skin and injuries to his eyes in November 2008.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services began an investigation after someone called and told them about the infant’s injuries, and DCS workers compelled Lopez to take the boy to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment of his skin burns, eyes, and management of his pain. [Read more…]

Former jailer indicted on charge of assaulting an inmate

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Dustin McCoig

Dustin McCoig

A former corrections corporal with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on an assault charge after allegedly hitting an inmate, authorities said Wednesday.

Joshua Bryant, a prisoner at the jail, alleged that he was struck by the former corporal, Dustin McCoig, on October 22, 2014, while he was an inmate and while McCoig was at work and on duty at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

Bryant and his family reported the incident, and an internal affairs investigation was launched, Clark said. The Sheriff’s Department presented the case to Clark, who in turn presented it to the Grand Jury on March 3. [Read more…]

Former nurse indicted on false report charge in prisoner death

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Billy Joe Brockman

Billy Joe Brockman

A former nurse at the Anderson County Detention Facility has been charged with filing a false report in the death of a prisoner in July 2014, authorities said.

An autopsy revealed that the prisoner, Christopher C. Sullivan, died accidentally from a combination of alcohol and morphine, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

An indictment against the former nurse, Billy Joe Brockman, 49, of Clinton, “indicates that he unlawfully reported to Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators that he had measured and recorded the vital signs of Christopher C. Sullivan while knowing that he had, in fact, not measured or recorded the information,” Clark said. [Read more…]