Oak Ridge Today

One dead after two-county chase ends in crash; wanted man charged with homicide

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Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

One man is dead following the crash that occurred Wednesday afternoon on Central Avenue Pike in north Knox County after a two-county police chase, and a man wanted in both Anderson and Knox counties has been charged with vehicular homicide, authorities said.

According to the initial investigation, 26-year-old Ralpheal Cameron Coffey was fleeing from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department in a 2007 maroon Chevy Impala when he almost struck an officer with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office in his cruiser around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on Heiskell Road, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. The officer turned the cruiser around to pursue Coffey, but found the Impala had crashed into a 2007 white Ford F150 pickup truck on Central Avenue Pike at Callahan Drive.

Coffey and his passenger, Tommie Troupe, 44, as well as the driver of the Ford, Kevin Bradley, 27, and his passenger, Eric Kennedy, 26, were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville with incapacitating injuries. Bradley was pronounced dead at the hospital. [Read more…]

Two-county car chase ends in crash that injures four in Knox

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Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A two-county car chase that started in Anderson County before being terminated by deputies Wednesday afternoon ended with a two-vehicle crash in Knox County that injured four people, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies were looking for Ralpheal Cameron Coffey, 26, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Claxton area for several outstanding warrants, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. He said Coffey was spotted in a maroon Chevrolet Impala on Edgemoor Road.

“As deputies started to make a vehicle stop on Coffey, he began fleeing toward Clinton Highway on Edgemoor Road,” Lucas said. “Deputies began a pursuit that crossed Clinton Highway onto Raccoon Valley Road and into Knox County. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle as it went under the railroad trestle on Raccoon Valley Road in Heiskell.”

Witnesses pointed out that the vehicle turned southbound onto Heiskell Road toward Powell, Lucas said. But deputies were unable to locate the vehicle and terminated their pursuit. [Read more…]

Claxton couple arrested Sunday after robbery, prostitution investigation

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Richard Paul Pressley

Richard Paul Pressley

A Claxton husband and wife were arrested Sunday after a robbery and prostitution investigation in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road, authorities said.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies were called to meet with a 32-year-old victim who said he had been robbed at gunpoint at a mobile home on Queen Street after replying to a Backpage.com advertisement for escort services, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. The victim told deputies he had met a female at the residence, and after a short time a male entered, brandished a handgun, and robbed him of cash, the press release said.

He was then tied up and left in a bedroom, authorities said. The victim was able to free himself and flee out a window.

Deputies responded and, after an investigation, the two residents of the mobile home, Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 26, and her husband, Richard Paul Pressley, 29, were both charged with several felony offenses related to the robbery as well as prostitution. [Read more…]

ACSD: Jury duty scam returns

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The jury duty scam has returned again, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

“We have received several reports (on May 10) out of Oak Ridge that someone was calling residents stating there are warrants for their arrest for missing jury duty,” Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“So far no one is out any money,” Lucas said then. [Read more…]

Five arrested after drug investigation in Anderson County

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Michael Antonio Johnson

Michael Antonio Johnson

Note: This story was updated at 10:32 p.m.

Five people were arrested Friday, May 13, after a search warrant was served at an Old Dutch Valley Road home, authorities said. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators and agents with the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force were assisted by the Sheriff’s Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics Team in serving the search warrant, which was obtained after an investigation into illegal drug and other criminal activity at the home, a press release said.

The two residents of the home, Michael Antonio Johnson, 44, and Lucy Jane Lowe, 35, were arrested for several felony and misdemeanor drug, weapons, and conspiracy offenses, the press release said.

Two others, Branden Charles Dye, 23, of Clinton, and Roxanne Nicole Luckey, of Briceville, were arrested for misdemeanor drug charges, authorities said. [Read more…]

Jury deliberating sentence in death penalty case

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Sammie-Adams-Picture-Norman-Follis-Trial-May-2016

Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, who was killed at 79, is pictured above about five years before his death, which the man convicted of his murder, his nephew Norman Lee Follis Jr., said occurred in December 2011. (Photo courtesy Sandra Follis)

 

CLINTON—An Anderson County jury is deliberating the sentence for Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, who was convicted on Tuesday of first-degree murder. The death penalty is one option.

The other two options are life without parole and life. No matter what happens, defense attorney Mart Cizek said, Follis will die in prison. Life with the possibility of parole has a 51-year minimum sentence, meaning Follis would be 103 before he would be eligible for release, if he receives the life sentence with the possibility of parole.

The jury convicted Follis on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the death of his uncle, Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, 79, sometime between December 2011 and January 2012. Adams’ decomposing body was found on January 24, 2012, under a pile of at least 10 blankets in a closet under an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton after he was reported missing. He had been strangled. [Read more…]

Follis found guilty of first-degree murder in death penalty case

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Norman Lee Follis Jr May 10 2016

Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, is facing the death penalty as a possible sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, for killing his uncle in Claxton more than four years ago. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. May 11.

CLINTON—An Anderson County man who is facing the death penalty as a possible sentence was found guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday for killing his uncle in Claxton more than four years ago.

A jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about one hour and 40 minutes before unanimously returning the guilty verdict against Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52,  in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton. Follis was convicted of killing his uncle, Samuel “Sammie” J. Adams, 79, sometime between December 5, 2011, and January 24, 2012.

It was the first death penalty trial in Anderson County since 1991, officials said.

Adams’ body was found hidden underneath an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton on January 24, 2012, after he was reported missing in December 2011. His decomposing body was buried under at least 10 blankets, and a couch had been shoved up against the door of the closet where Adams was hidden, according to testimony.

Defense attorneys did not dispute that Follis killed his uncle, a Korean War veteran.

“We cannot whitewash that out,” attorney Mart Cizek said. [Read more…]

Twenty-four indicted in second cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more

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Edward Javard Mitchell

Edward Javard Mitchell

Note: This story was last updated at 10:08 p.m.

Twenty-four people, most of them Oak Ridge residents, have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in a second alleged cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more. That makes a total of 33 people who have been indicted in two separate conspiracies to allegedly manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine last year.

There are other charges that apply to some of the suspects as well.

The indictments allege that the two conspiracies, one involving 11 people and the other involving 24, both occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The indictments are being posted by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk following a drug suspect roundup that started Thursday and continued into Saturday in Oak Ridge. It’s not clear yet if other communities were involved, or if authorities have alleged additional conspiracies. Also, all the charges against all the defendants don’t appear to be posted yet.

Two of the defendants are named in both conspiracies.

Authorities have said little about the case so far. But they plan to release more information about what they have described as a complex, multi-county criminal investigation during a Monday afternoon press conference in the Clinton office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. Authorities have said parts of the investigation were unprecedented. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are expected to report on the investigation during the Monday afternoon press conference. [Read more…]

Jail records: About two dozen arrests on drug-related charges Thursday

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:26 a.m.

There were about two dozen arrests on drug-related charges in Anderson County on Thursday, according to jail records, as authorities from several agencies swept through Oak Ridge and possibly other communities in what they’ve described as a multi-county criminal investigation.

The most common charge, by far, is manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance, according to Anderson County jail records. Counts on that charge vary from one to two dozen, according to jail records, with many of those arrested facing in the range of eight to 11 counts.

Other charges listed against a few of those arrested include possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawfully carrying a weapon, possessing drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, property theft, and simple possession.

Most of those arrested are listed as Oak Ridge residents, but there are also residents of Knoxville, Clinton, Kingston, and Madisonville. The defendants range in age from 20-61. [Read more…]

Driver charged in two-vehicle crash that injured three on Thursday

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Clinton-Highway-Crash-April-28-2016

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at about 5:27 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2016. The vehicles included the Jeep Grand Cherokee pictured at left center and the Eagle Vision that is partially obscured behind an emergency vehicle at right. The driver of the Eagle has been charged by the THP. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAXTON—A Knoxville man was charged with vehicular assault and driving under the influence after a two-vehicle crash injured three people on Clinton Highway on Thursday, authorities said.

Scott Gray, 26, of Knoxville, also faces eight more charges that allege additional violations: open container, simple possession of Schedule IV drugs, drug paraphernalia, due care, improper turn, failure to yield, financial responsibility, and a registration violation, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash. The DUI offense is a second offense, according to a THP preliminary crash report.

The THP responded to the crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at 5:27 p.m. Thursday. Mehaffey Road is a short drive past Edgemoor Road headed toward Knoxville on Clinton Highway. Headed toward Knoxville, it’s near the beginning of a hilly, curvy stretch of Clinton Highway that winds into Knox County from Anderson County.

Authorities said Gray was driving north on Clinton Highway in a 1993 Eagle Vision sedan when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department warns of scam alert

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Scam Alert

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has once again received reports of someone calling residents in Anderson County threatening arrest for failing to appear in court.

These scam artists are identifying themselves as members of the Sheriff’s Department and telling the people called that they need to obtain a prepaid debit card and give the callers the card number.

This is the same scam as reported in the past, a press release said. Please be aware law enforcement agencies or court clerk’s offices do not make calls such as these!

If you have been the victim of this scam, please contact the Sheriff’s Communications Center at (865) 457-2414, or your local police department.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Crews fight fire inside former Magnet Mills; Clinton City Schools closed Friday

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Magnet Mills Fire Clinton April 7 2016

The former Magnet Mills in Clinton caught fire on Thursday evening, April 7, 2016. (Photo courtesy Philip Warfield)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. April 8.

CLINTON—Crews battled a fire inside the former Magnet Mills in Clinton on Thursday evening, and Clinton City Schools will be closed Friday, April 8.

Charles G. Seivers Boulevard was closed downtown Thursday night as crews fought the fire and prepared to remove items that were still smoldering inside.

Clinton City Schools said schools would be closed because of the fire and the roads that would be closed in the morning.

“This decision was made in an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff members,” school officials said.

The fire was reported at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday in one building at the former hosiery mill. The property includes two big, brick warehouse buildings next to CVS Pharmacy between Charles G. Seivers Boulevard and the Clinch River in downtown Clinton. [Read more…]