Oak Ridge Today

Rocky Top man indicted on attempted murder charge

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Steven Wayne Rice

Steven Wayne Rice

A Rocky Top man was indicted on an attempted first-degree murder charge this month in a shooting that allegedly involved his wife.

Steven Wayne Rice, 38, has also been indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon.

Rice was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on March 7. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday.

He is accused of trying to kill Amy Rice, who is identified as his wife in earlier arrest warrants, on August 30, 2015.

Rice had initially been charged with attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment. Those charges were waived from Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge to the Anderson County Grand Jury on September 15, 2016.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that Rice had threatened Amy Rice with a pistol and fired it when three other people in the home tackled him and took away the gun. [Read more…]

Assault, endangerment charges related to heroin overdose waived to grand jury

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Heather Marie Rau

Heather Marie Rau

Aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges filed against an Oak Ridge woman after a heroin overdose in February were waived to the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday.

Heather Marie Rau, 29, had a status hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

She is accused of providing heroin to a man who ended up unconscious on a hallway floor in a home on West Outer Drive at about 3 p.m. February 16. Rau told Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John R. Criswell that she warned the man, Wesley “Bud” Arnold, not to “shoot it,” or inject the heroin, because she knew what she had given him could possibly kill him, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Warrants said the heroin had already killed one man and caused Rau to overdose. [Read more…]

Kidnapping, assault charges added in Hibachi Burger robbery

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Dominique Leshawn Gordon

Dominique Leshawn Gordon

 

The Oak Ridge man charged in an alleged armed robbery at Hibachi Burger on January 10 also faces charges of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault, according to court records.

Dominique Leshawn Gordon, 21, of Hamilton Circle, faces one charge of aggravated robbery, one charge of especially aggravated kidnapping, eight charges of aggravated kidnapping, and nine charges of aggravated assault.

The alleged robbery at the Grove Center business occurred at about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, January 10. Warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge said Gordon entered Hibachi Burger with a handgun.

“The defendant demanded money from the register while displaying the firearm to several employees and patrons, placing them in fear of serious bodily injury,” Oak Ridge Police Department Detective A. Marvell Moore said in affidavits attached to arrest warrants. “After obtaining the money, the defendant fled on foot.”

He was caught a short time later by patrol officers. A search found the cash taken from Hibachi Burger, according to the warrants. [Read more…]

Knowing it could kill, woman still provided heroin, warrants say

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Heather Marie Rau

Heather Marie Rau

 

The heroin had already killed one man and caused her to overdose, but an Oak Ridge woman still provided the illegal drug to a second man, who ended up unconscious on a hallway floor with a very weak pulse and unable to breathe on his own on Thursday, authorities said.

Heather Marie Rau, 29, told Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John R. Criswell that she warned Wesley “Bud” Arnold not to “shoot it,” or inject the heroin, because she knew what she had given him could possibly kill him, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

It’s not clear how Arnold ingested the heroin, but he was unconscious on a hallway floor with a very weak pulse and unable to breathe on his own when Criswell responded to an overdose call at 622 West Outer Drive at about 3 p.m. Thursday.

“EMS personnel were able to revive Arnold by giving him a dose of Narcan, which is used to assist persons who overdose on opioid-based narcotics,” Criswell said in the warrants.

Rau and Willie Williams had ingested the same heroin at 622 West Outer Drive on February 12, and she overdosed while Williams died, the warrants said. [Read more…]

Hearing scheduled for OS man charged in two store robberies

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Wallace Wade Tidwell

Wallace Wade Tidwell

 

A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for an Oliver Springs man charged in two store robberies in Clinton.

The first robbery was reported at the Clinton BP on North Charles Seivers Boulevard on June 13, 2015, and the second was reported at Rocky Top Market in Clinton on July 19, 2016.

Wallace Wade Tidwell III, 38, of Kingston Avenue in Oliver Springs, is charged with aggravated robbery in the first case, and robbery in the second. A hearing for him has been set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

In the first case, the robbery reported at Clinton BP in June 2015, Tidwell allegedly came out of the bathroom, approached a store clerk behind the counter, and demanded money from the cash register—after telling the clerk he “had a bad day,” according to an affidavit filed in General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Man charged with aggravated assault after allegedly pointing handgun at two people

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David Janis

David Janis

 

An Oak Ridge man was charged with two counts of aggravated assault after allegedly pointing a handgun at two people near Tacoma Road and California Avenue on Thursday, authorities said.

One resident in the area said he he came outside his home to see who was in his yard at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday, and he saw a man with a gray hooded sweatshirt, black vest, dark pants, dark long hair, and a tattoo on his left cheek pointing a black handgun at him, yelling, “You hawked me, b—-, come to 122,” as he walked around behind a home on East Tennessee Avenue, according to a warrant filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The resident feared for his life and ran back into his home and called 911, the warrant said. [Read more…]

Robbery that ends in shooting arranged through social media, described as ‘drug deal gone bad,’ warrants say

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The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said. The three defendants are, from left, Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge; Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knoxville. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff's Department)

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said. The three defendants are, from left, Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge; Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knoxville. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said.

The shooting, which injured Wesley Arnold of Peach Orchard Road in Clinton, occurred at about 12:58 p.m. Tuesday at 104 East Holston Lane. Arnold had two gunshot wounds, one to each leg. He was hit as he attempted to flee the East Holston Lane home, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Marvell Moore.

After the shooting, three people were quickly arrested and charged with especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony; aggravated assault, a Class C felony; and criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony. They are Nicholas Strickland, 25, of South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge; Nicole Brewer, 19, of Highland Avenue in Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knox Lane in Knoxville.

Brewer told Moore that she arranged the robbery, and she contacted Arnold, the victim, through a social media site to conduct the deal, Moore wrote in the warrants.

“She (Brewer) advised the drug deal was supposed to be a ‘rip,’ meaning there wasn’t going to be any money exchanged for the substance (methamphetamine),” Moore said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man indicted on aggravated robbery, aggravated assault charges

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Duran Maszae Lee

Duran Maszae Lee

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault for an alleged home-invasion robbery on Dewey Road three years ago.

Duran Maszae Lee, 32, has been charged with aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and possession of more than 14.175 grams of marijuana. The indictments were returned by the Anderson County Grand Jury on October 4.

Lee has an arraignment scheduled for Monday in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton.

He remains jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, according to jail records.

Arrest warrants filed after the alleged robbery on Dewey Road on November 22, 2013, said an Oak Ridge man was allegedly hit in the head and face with a pistol and a woman who was nine months pregnant at the time blacked out from fear when a suspect pointed a silver revolver at her during the Friday night home invasion.

The suspects allegedly stole a Sentry safe containing $3,000 from a closet and fled in a vehicle before officers arrived, according to affidavits attached to the arrest warrants and filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping charges dismissed

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Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Four charges against an Oak Ridge man that included attempted second-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping were dismissed in July after a victim or state witness failed to appear, according to court records and court officials.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 22, had also been charged with aggravated assault and assault. Those charges were also dismissed.

Rutherford had been charged in two separate alleged assaults this year, one on February 25 and another on April 28. Police responded to both alleged assaults at 101 Locust Lane, where Rutherford lives.

Rutherford allegedly used a metal rod in one of the beatings, authorities said, and he was also accused of hitting the woman in the head with a gun and forcing her into his vehicle at gunpoint, according to arrest warrants.

The charges were dismissed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on July 26, when a state witness or victim did not appear. Judgements on the aggravated assault and especially aggravated kidnapping charges said the victim failed to appear. That’s the same victim as in the attempted second-degree murder charge. [Read more…]

Demonstrator arrested after annual march to Y-12

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OREPA-Rosdatter-Y-12-ORPD-Aug-6-2016-3

Beth Rosdatter of Lexington, Kentucky, in white T-shirt, was arrested on a state misdemeanor charge of obstructing a highway after she walked up to the federal “blue line” and sat on the pavement in front of it at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on East Bear Creek Road on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:45 p.m. Aug. 7.

A Kentucky woman was arrested on a state misdemeanor charge after she walked up to the federal “blue line” at the front entrance of the Y-12 National Security Complex on East Bear Creek Road on Saturday afternoon and sat down on the pavement at the main entrance to the nuclear weapons plant.

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said Rosdatter, a 55-year-old mother who has a doctorate in philosophy, did not cross the blue line. Crossing it can result in federal charges.

In an apparent act of civil disobedience, Rosdatter sat in the roadway, on the hot asphalt near the blue line. She appeared to be questioned by Y-12 security officers and the Oak Ridge Police Department and then detained by the ORPD.

Also Saturday, Michael Walli, one of three protesters who broke into Y-12 on July 28, 2012, and splashed blood and sprayed graffiti on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility as part of an effort to protest nuclear weapons, helped lead a two-mile nuclear disarmament march to Y-12 from Alvin K. Bissell Park in central Oak Ridge. Rosdatter’s arrest followed that march.

Walli was released from prison along with his two fellow protesters, Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed, on May 16, 2015, eight days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned their more serious felony sabotage convictions. [Read more…]

Driver in alleged hit-and-run with pedestrians faces more charges

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Steven Ray Buxton

Steven Ray Buxton

The driver in an alleged hit-and-run that injured two female pedestrians on East Tennessee Avenue on Monday afternoon is facing more charges, in addition to aggravated assault, according to court records.

Steven Ray Buxton, 62, of Jefferson Avenue in Oak Ridge, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, and failure to maintain a lane, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The women were struck by a vehicle on East Tennessee Avenue near Towne Road at about 1:30 p.m. Monday as several pedestrians were crossing the road from Gallo Loco restaurant, which is on the south side of East Tennessee, to the north side of the road, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

In a press release earlier this week, the ORPD said a black truck had stopped for the pedestrians while they crossed the street. A beige Toyota Corolla, which was traveling behind the black truck, drove onto the sidewalk, passing the black truck, and struck two women, the press release said. The Toyota Corolla then allegedly fled the scene. [Read more…]

In child abuse case, police allegedly find drugs, knives; dog urine, feces; roaches, dirty dishes

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Jordan Tyler Etheridge and Honey Lee Hook July 2016

Jordan Tyler Etheridge, left, and Honey Lee Hook are pictured above. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

An Oak Ridge man and woman were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect after police conducting a welfare check on North Hollywood Circle on Saturday allegedly found drugs, paraphernalia, and several knives lying where a small child could reach them; dog urine and feces in several spots on the floor; roaches and dirty dishes with mold and bugs throughout the home; no running water that an officer could find; and a large bucket of dirty water in the middle of the floor, court records said.

The bathroom toilet was full of human waste, and there was a “foul odor throughout the residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

There were several small individual wrapped plastic baggies lying in plain sight on the living room floor, and some had a green leafy substance inside that looked and smelled like marijuana and several had a white powdery substance inside them, packaged for resale, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby said in the warrants. There were two spoons with a white powder substance on them lying on a television stand, Selby said.

The home is within 1,000 feet of the playground of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, making it a drug-free school zone, the warrants said. [Read more…]