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Death penalty decision expected in January

Posted at 10:14 am December 14, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Rebecca Dishman, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

CLINTON—A decision could be announced in January about whether to seek the death penalty for two Oak Ridge defendants charged with three counts of first-degree murder each in the gruesome kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 36-year-old woman.

The victim, Jennifer Gail Paxton, was found during a search of a home on East Fairview Road on August 5, 2020, after the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible homicide. Paxton had allegedly been lured to the home with the promise of a place to stay but, once there, became the victim of a series of gruesome crimes, according to arrest warrants filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Marvell Moore. She was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, raped, strangled, and her body stuffed into a freezer, according to the warrants.

The man and woman charged in Paxton’s death are Sean Shannon Finnegan, 54, and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, 23. They have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and 10 other charges, including aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping. A prosecutor told a judge last year that the two could face the death penalty for the “especially heinous” murder. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Finnegan and Dishman are charged in a separate case with aggravated rape of a child. A conviction in that case would result in an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, Anthony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County, told Judge Steven Sword.

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Rebecca Dishman, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

CLINTON—A decision could be announced in January about whether to seek the death penalty for two Oak Ridge defendants charged with three counts of first-degree murder each in the gruesome kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 36-year-old woman.

The victim, Jennifer Gail Paxton, was found during a search of a home on East Fairview Road on August 5, 2020, after the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible homicide. Paxton had allegedly been lured to the home with the promise of a place to stay but, once there, became the victim of a series of gruesome crimes, according to arrest warrants filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Marvell Moore. She was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, raped, strangled, and her body stuffed into a freezer, according to the warrants.

The man and woman charged in Paxton’s death are Sean Shannon Finnegan, 54, and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, 23. They have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and 10 other charges, including aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping. A prosecutor told a judge last year that the two could face the death penalty for the “especially heinous” murder. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Finnegan and Dishman are charged in a separate case with aggravated rape of a child. A conviction in that case would result in an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, Anthony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County, told Judge Steven Sword.

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Rebecca Dishman, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

CLINTON—A decision could be announced in January about whether to seek the death penalty for two Oak Ridge defendants charged with three counts of first-degree murder each in the gruesome kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 36-year-old woman.

The victim, Jennifer Gail Paxton, was found during a search of a home on East Fairview Road on August 5, 2020, after the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible homicide. Paxton had allegedly been lured to the home with the promise of a place to stay but, once there, became the victim of a series of gruesome crimes, according to arrest warrants filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Marvell Moore. She was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, raped, strangled, and her body stuffed into a freezer, according to the warrants.

The man and woman charged in Paxton’s death are Sean Shannon Finnegan, 54, and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, 23. They have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and 10 other charges, including aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping. A prosecutor told a judge last year that the two could face the death penalty for the “especially heinous” murder. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Finnegan and Dishman are charged in a separate case with aggravated rape of a child. A conviction in that case would result in an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, Anthony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County, told Judge Steven Sword.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: aggravated rape of a child, Anderson County Criminal Court, first-degree murder, kidnapping, Marvell Moore, murder, Oak Ridge Police Department, rape, Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, Sean Shannon Finnegan, Steven W. Sword

Two men charged with abuse of corpse

Posted at 6:27 pm October 8, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.

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Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Roane County Tagged With: abuse of a corpse, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Bretanie Shacole Davis, Carlos Lavern Bell, conspiracy to abuse a corpse, Daniel Herrera, Dave Clark, failure to report a death, Jason Robbins, Marvell Moore, Matt Tuck, Michael Dewayne Partin, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, RCSO, Roane County Sheriff’s Office, tampering with evidence, theft, violation of a protective order, Y-12 National Security Complex

Teen allegedly killed mother after she took away phone

Posted at 9:45 pm September 17, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment


Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

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Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Juvenile Court, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Brian Hunt, Don Scuglia, Emily Faye Abbott, first-degree murder, Sandy K. Willis, Shawn Tyler Willis

Statutory rape, misconduct charges dismissed against former officer after probation

Posted at 5:42 pm July 18, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

 

Charges against Cassen Jackson-Garrison, standing at right, a former Oak Ridge Police Department police officer, were dismissed this year after two years of supervised probation. Jackson-Garrison had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017. His attorney, Greg Isaacs, standing next to Jackson-Garrison, said Jackson-Garrison had accepted responsibility for the allegations, and he compared his client’s childhood story to the one portrayed in the movie “The Blind Side.” The probation was a judicial diversion, allowing the felony charges to be dismissed if Jackson-Garrison complied with the terms and conditions. Jackson-Garrison and Isaacs are pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 12, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

After a two-year probation, charges were dismissed this year against a former Oak Ridge Police Department officer who had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017.

His attorney successfully asked for judicial diversion for Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 36, more than three years ago, although the state opposed it. The judicial diversion gave Jackson-Garrison, a former star football player, the opportunity to have the felony charges dismissed and expunged, or removed from his record, at the end of his probationary period. But he had to comply with the terms and conditions. The two-year probation ended in December 2019.

The charges were dismissed in January 2021, after Jackson-Garrison completed the terms of his diversion sentence.

The plea agreement has been previously reported, but the dismissal of the charges has not been. The charges appear to have now been expunged from Jackson-Garrison’s record, at least the portion that is publicly available.

Jackson-Garrison surrendered his P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) certification for police officers as part of his plea agreement, but he will not be placed on the sex offender registry.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, Dave Clark, Don Elledge, Gregory Isaacs, judicial diversion, Oak Ridge Police Department, official misconduct, ORPD, plea agreement, sentencing hearing, statutory rape, supervised probation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tony Craighead

Appeals court upholds attempted murder conviction

Posted at 2:11 pm July 14, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019

McKinnley Earl McGee, of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above at right, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, for an attempted murder during a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. At left is defense attorney Curtis Isabell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld an attempted murder conviction against an Oak Ridge man who received the maximum 20-year prison sentence for a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she reportedly would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment.

McKinnley McGee was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with serious bodily injury two years ago, after a one-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in July 2019. He was convicted of stabbing and trying to kill Machel Elaine Avery on Utica Circle in Oak Ridge on January 12, 2018.

McGee was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in September that year. That was based in part on his extensive criminal record, which includes at least eight felony convictions and seven misdemeanors dating back 30 years in Anderson County and California, according to court records and information provided during the sentencing hearing.

In his appeal, McGee had questioned whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for attempted second-degree murder. He argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that he acted in a way that was intended and reasonably certain to cause Avery’s death, the appeals court said.

But in an opinion published April 9, the appeals court found that the evidence was sufficient. The opinion has not been previously reported.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Tennessee Tagged With: aggravated assault, Alan E. Glenn, Anderson County Criminal Court, Appeals Court, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Camille R. McMullen, Christopher Wallace, Curtis Isabell, James Curwood Witt Jr., Machel Elaine Avery, Matthew Johnston, McKinnley McGee, Oak Ridge Police Department, Renee W. Turner, Roy Frank Roberts, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Tony Craighead, Tracey Vought Williams

For members: Man who tried to shoot deputy sentenced to 25 years

Posted at 1:00 pm May 25, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

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Charles Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, May 24, 2021, for trying to shoot a deputy in April 2019, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to shoot a deputy northeast of Oak Ridge in April 2019 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Charles Edward Mason, 54, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and five felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a 911 call and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Ann Coria, attempted first-degree murder, attempted murder, attempted shooting, best interest plea, Charles Edward Mason, Gabriel Collins, Matthew McGhee, Randy Seay, Ryan Spitzer, U.S. District Court

For members: Charged with attempted murder, man pleads guilty to aggravated assault

Posted at 6:30 pm September 4, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A Knoxville man was sentenced to eight years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault after originally being charged with attempted first-degree murder in Oak Ridge.

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A Knoxville man was sentenced to eight years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault after originally being charged with attempted first-degree murder in Oak Ridge.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, attempted first-degree murder, attempted murder, Daniel Ray Price, Dave Clark, Don Elledge, John Thomas, Maxim Fridman, Oak Ridge Police Department, Ryan Spitzer

For members: Thousands of movies, games, ink cartridges seized from McGuire, Packard’s, indictment says

Posted at 1:39 pm August 30, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Law enforcement officers who searched McGuire Used Books and Packard’s stores in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Kingston more than two years ago seized thousands of movies, video games, and printer ink cartridges, and after the searches and seizures, an Oak Ridge man was charged with money laundering, organized retail crime, and theft, according to an indictment filed in Anderson County in June.

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Law enforcement officers who searched McGuire Used Books and Packard’s stores in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Kingston more than two years ago seized thousands of movies, video games, and printer ink cartridges, and after the searches and seizures, an Oak Ridge man was charged with money laundering, organized retail crime, and theft, according to an indictment filed in Anderson County in June.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Business, Clinton, Clinton, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Kingston, Kingston, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, grand jury indictment, John McGuire Packard, judicial forfeiture, Justin Bell, McGuire Used Books, money laundering, organized retail crime, Packards, theft

For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for shooting that injured two

Posted at 3:20 pm January 7, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

 
Claxton-Shooting-Jan-13-2018

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigates a shooting at 3008 Clinton Highway, at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road in Claxton, on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, 2018. Two people were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man received a 20-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting that injured two people during an argument in a Clinton Highway home about two years ago.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, attempted first-degree murder, Brenda Foster, Clinton Highway, Donald R. Elledge, Emily Faye Abbott, Jacob Lynn Rutherford, James Crowley, Jamie Poston Hughes, Nathan Lynn Phillips, plea agreement, shooting, William "Ernie" Ernest Foster

For members: Man sentenced to 14 years after taking van from woman in wheelchair

Posted at 12:59 pm September 19, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bradley Allan Thomas

 

A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year. Authorities had alleged that the man pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Tennessee Tagged With: aggravated robbery, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Bradley Allan Thomas, carjacking, Emily Faye Abbott, evading arrest, Jonathan Acker, Nathan Gibson, Oak Ridge Police Department, plea, plea deal, Red Lobster, Seventh Judicial District, Tennessee Highway Patrol

For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder

Posted at 1:58 am September 10, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

 
Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019

An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man who has at least 15 prior criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on Monday for an attempted murder during a stabbing last year that injured a women so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Brittney L. Brown, Christopher Wallace, Curtis Isabell, Dave Clark, Don Elledge, Machel Elaine Avery, McKinley Earl McGee, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, sentencing hearing, stabbing, Tennessee Department of Correction, Tony Craighead

Oak Ridge man charged with murder in drug death

Posted at 2:38 pm August 27, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ronald Nicholas Bunch
Ronald Nicholas Bunch

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with second-degree murder in the drug-related death of another Oak Ridge man in February.

It could be the first time that anyone has been charged with murder, rather than homicide, for a drug-related fatality in Anderson County. There has been a previous case where a man was charged with and convicted of homicide in a drug overdose death.

The man who died on February 6 was Steven Douglas Scruggs, 34.

Indicted in his death was Ronald Nicholas Bunch, 28, of West Wadsworth Circle in Oak Ridge. Bunch’s indictment for second-degree murder on June 4 said he unlawfully and knowingly killed Scruggs through the unlawful distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance, and the drug caused Scruggs’ death. Second-degree murder is a Class A felony in Tennessee.

The charge of second-degree murder, part of a three-count indictment, doesn’t specifically say what drug killed Scruggs. But the second count of the indictment charged Bunch with possessing fentanyl, a Schedule II medication, for resale.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, drug death, drug-related death, drug-related fatality, fentanyl, heroin, Jeremy Phillips, Oak Ridge Police Department, Ronald Nicholas Bunch, Ryan M. Spitzer, second-degree murder, Seventh Judicial District, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Steven Douglas Scruggs, Timothy Buckner

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