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Man, woman receive sentences of 3-5 years in robbery pleas

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Lindsay Elaine Pressley

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

 

A Powell woman received a five-year sentence and a Knoxville man received a three-year sentence when they pleaded guilty to a robbery in Claxton that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 29, entered her plea agreement in Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court in Clinton on October 29.

Her co-defendant, Richard Paul Pressley, 32, entered his plea agreement last week, on Tuesday, April 2.

As part of their plea deals, an aggravated robbery charge filed against both Pressleys was reduced to robbery. Their charges of especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon were reduced to kidnapping. And charges of conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping were reduced to conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping. Charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery remained unchanged. All four charges are felony charges.

In each case, the sentences for the individual charges run concurrently, or at the same time.

[Read more…]

Trial set for man charged with vehicular homicide in death of 3-year-old

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A plea agreement has not been reached, and trial dates were set during a plea agreement hearing for Jason Robert Braden, center, in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, March 29, 2019. At left is defense attorney David Stuart, who represents Braden in a vehicular homicide case from a crash that killed a three-year-old boy in Oak Ridge in January 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A plea agreement has not been reached, and trial dates were set during a plea agreement hearing for Jason Robert Braden II, center, in Anderson County Circuit Court on Friday, March 29, 2019. At left is defense attorney David Stuart, who represents Braden in the vehicular homicide case from a crash that killed a three-year-old boy in Oak Ridge in January 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Prosecutors and the defense have not been able to reach an agreement on a plea deal, so a two-day trial has been set for Jason Robert Braden II, the 25-year-old Anderson County man charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, among other charges, in the death of a three-year-old boy, Jason Robert Braden III, in a crash in Oak Ridge in January 2017.

Braden had two plea agreement hearings scheduled in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton last month, one on Friday, March 1, and the other on Friday, March 29. But no agreement was announced during either hearing. The date was rescheduled during the March 1 hearing, and on Friday, defense attorney David Stuart said the defense and the state wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement.

At the start of Friday’s hearing, Stuart said an issue had come up. Braden had requested copies of the discovery, potential evidence that could be used at trial, so copies were made and delivered to the jail, Stuart said. But they went to the wrong Jason Braden, and Jason Robert Braden thinks that’s an ethics breach, Stuart said.

Stuart said he would have to self-report the breach if he thought he had done something wrong. Other legal officials, such as the judge and district attorney general, would also have to report him if they thought he had done something wrong, Stuart said. [Read more…]

Rocky Top woman charged with three counts of first-degree murder

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The criminal homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, left, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Christy Viola Comer, 38, of Rocky Top, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of J.C. Copeland, an 83-year-old man, during an alleged robbery in August. Comer, left, is pictured above during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Rocky Top woman has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of an 83-year-old man during an alleged robbery in August.

Christy Viola Comer, 38, faces one count of first-degree murder for the premeditated and intentional killing of J.C. Copeland, according to an indictment filed by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on March 5.

Comer faces two more charges of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Copeland while committing two other crimes, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, according to the indictment.

The five-count indictment also charged Comer with those two other crimes, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. Comer took Copeland’s property violently through the use of a deadly weapon, and she entered Copeland’s home without permission, intending to commit a felony, according to the indictment.

Comer has an arraignment scheduled for the five felony charges on March 29 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

(For members) Man sentenced to 35 years in assaults against women

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Jason Bradley Braden

Jason Bradley Braden

 

Jason Bradley Braden

 

CLINTON—A Clinton man was sentenced to 35 years in prison when he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault in a series of assaults that involved four female victims in three cases.

One of the victims, a grandmother in her 70s, was hit in the face with a crowbar and had a fractured skull and teeth knocked out, according to facts cited in Anderson County Criminal Court during the plea agreement hearing in Clinton on Wednesday.

The defendant, Jason Bradley Braden, 30, was ordered to serve 100 percent of his 35-year sentence.

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Man charged with aggravated child abuse

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Brady Hutton

Brady Hutton

 

The Anderson County Grand Jury has indicted Brady Daniel Hutton, 27, on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect after a child who is less than eight years old was reported to have had serious injuries.

Hutton was arrested at his work last week by the United States Marshals Service and taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, a press release said.

Before his arrest, the Sheriff’s Department had received a referral from the Department of Children’s Services on October 24 about a severe child abuse complaint they received from the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital staff in Knoxville, the press release said. At the hospital, Hutton was interviewed by DCS and ACSD Detective Darrell Slater, and it was determined there was enough probable cause to present the case to a grand jury, the press release said. [Read more…]

(For members) Testimony: Defendant in homicide case had planned to rob man

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The criminal homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, left, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The criminal homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, left, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, middle, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—The defendant in a criminal homicide case in Rocky Top in August had planned to rob the 83-year-old man who died because “it would be easy,” according to court testimony Tuesday.

The body of the victim, J.C. Copeland, who has been described as a “sweet old man,” was found partially wrapped in a pink blanket underneath a porch at a mobile home on Jacksboro Avenue on August 31, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent John Hannon. Copeland is believed to have been strangled until he died, according to court records. There was white rope around Copeland’s neck and other parts of his body, including his wrists and ankles, Hannon testified during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday.

Inside Copeland’s home, investigators found a fresh brown stain on the floor near his front door, white strings similar to the material found around his neck, and in one possible sign of a struggle, cigarettes on the floor, according to Hannon’s testimony. An acrylic painted press-on fingernail was found in the living room, Hannon said. It’s similar to the type of press-on fingernail that a woman might wear, Hannon said when questioned by prosecutor Emily Faye Abbott.

Outside the home, Copeland’s vehicle was missing.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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Man pleads guilty to reckless homicide in death of father after argument

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William Brent James

William Brent James

 

William Brent James

A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless homicide in the death of his father after an argument in an Oak Ridge parking lot in 2014.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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Rocky Top man charged with child abuse after infant found unresponsive

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Cameron Tommy Beard

Cameron Tommy Beard

 

A Rocky Top man has been charged with aggravated child abuse and child abuse after an infant who was reported to have a brain injury was found unresponsive on Old Lake City Highway in Anderson County in March, authorities said.

Cameron Tommy Beard, 19, was arrested by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after he was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release Friday. The indictment of Beard charged him with aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child less than eight years old, and two counts of child abuse of a child less than eight, Clark said. [Read more…]

Roane County man charged with stealing more than $250,000

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Malbern Robert Edington

Malbern Robert Edington

 

A Roane County man has been charged with the theft of more than $250,000 and knowing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, according to Anderson County court records.

Malbern Robert Edington, 37, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on August 7. He has an arraignment scheduled for Friday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

Edington, who lives in Roane County north of Oak Ridge, was arrested August 24 by John Thomas of the Oak Ridge Police Department. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday night. His bond has been set at $100,000. [Read more…]

Woman sentenced to eight years after drugs discarded during police chase

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

A Knoxville woman who fled from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in a car in Anderson County last year as methamphetamine and heroin were discarded from the moving vehicle pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday.

About 60 grams of methamphetamine and less than a gram of heroin were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during the police chase, which started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, 2017, according to court proceedings and affidavits.

The plea agreement hearing for the driver of the 1992 Honda Accord, Clarissa Sharee Tindell, 25, was Tuesday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Her plea was by information, meaning she entered a plea before she was formally charged in an indictment by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Early pleas can lead to agreements more favorable to defendants.

Tindell, who was represented by defense attorney Paul Sexton of Oak Ridge, had been charged earlier in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton in a case that included additional counts such as aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony, speeding (117 mph in a 45 mph zone), and failure to yield the right of way, among other charges. Those charges were waived to the Grand Jury on June 6. [Read more…]

Knoxville man pleads guilty to reckless homicide after boy drowns

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James R. Baysinger

James R. Baysinger

 

James R. Baysinger

James R. Baysinger

 

CLINTON—A Knoxville man pleaded guilty to reckless homicide on Friday in the death of a five-year-old boy in Anderson County about three years ago. The child was reported to have drowned after being reported missing.

James R. Baysinger, 63, pleaded guilty to the single count of reckless homicide in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday afternoon. As part of the plea deal, the state will not prosecute a second charge, aggravated child abuse or neglect when the victim, Odin Elwood Fitton, was less than eight years old.

Baysinger has a sentencing hearing scheduled for November 27.

There was no allegation in court on Friday that Baysinger intended to injure or kill Odin. Instead, the boy’s death was alleged to have resulted from recklessness.

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

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

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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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.