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Oak Ridge man indicted on aggravated robbery, aggravated assault charges

Posted at 8:40 pm October 30, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, arraignment, Ben Higgins, Duran Maszae Lee, home invasion robbery, indictments, Kevin Craig, Matthew Johnston, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, possession of more than 14.175 grams of marijuana, tampering with evidence

DA’s office also recused from July 4 fatal crash case because of liens filed by defendant

Posted at 9:05 pm July 26, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Anderson County Criminal Court Lee Cromwell Jim Scott July 25 2016

Lee Cromwell, right, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and 16 other charges after a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015, huddles with his family and defense attorney James Scott, left, after an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, July 25, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:47 a.m. July 27.

CLINTON—First the judge recused himself and now the district attorney general’s office has been recused in a homicide case filed against an Oak Ridge man after a fatal crash in the crowded parking lot of Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

Both recusals were because of liens filed by the defendant, Lee Harold Cromwell, 66. The recusals mean another judge has already been appointed, and another DA will have to be appointed. A lien is a claim that one person owes something to another person.

Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge recused himself during a June 3 arraignment because of an $8 million lien filed against him by Cromwell.

“It was upsetting that he filed a frivolous lien against me,” Elledge said Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can legally, morally, and ethically to prosecute him criminally and civilly to the full extent of the law.”

Then, during a rescheduled arraignment on Monday, defense attorney James K. Scott asked for Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark and the DA’s office to also be recused. That was because of liens that Cromwell filed against the DA and another member of his office in “misplaced mindset” in a “misguided effort, out of desperation, to advocate for his innocence without the knowledge or advice of counsel,” Scott said in a motion to recuse. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Adam Ghassemi, Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County DA, Anderson County District Attorney General, arraignment, Ben Higgins, Curtis Booker, Dave Clark, Donald R. Elledge, Elizabeth Eldridge, fraudulent lien, homicide, indictments, Ja’Shalin Porter, Ja’Taalia Henderson, Jackie Robinson, Jaide Robinson, James K. Scott, James Robinson, Jim Akagi, Julia Robinson, La’Ruis Henderson, Le’Meire Porter, Lee Cromwell, Lee Harold Cromwell, Michael Eldridge, Michele Wojciechowski, Midtown Community Center, Mortisia Corey, Oak Ridge Police Department, parking lot crash, Paul G. Summers, sovereign citizen, Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, Tennessee Secretary of State, Tim Shelton, Tony Craighead, Vickie Bannach, William Jones

Warrants: Woman had access to weapons, threatened to shoot boyfriend with police present

Posted at 8:09 pm April 8, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Sara J. Flynt

Sara J. Flynt

The Oak Ridge woman who allegedly barricaded herself in a home in March and threw a pistol out a window while negotiating with police officers has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening to shoot her boyfriend while police were present and while she had access to multiple deadly weapons, authorities said.

Sara J. Flynt, 27, was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and arrested April 1. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Friday evening, and her bond has been set at $105,000.

Police had responded to a report that Flynt was creating a disturbance at her home at 426 East Tennessee Avenue at about 2:04 a.m. Saturday, March 19. When officers tried to contact her, they found that she was barricaded in a bedroom, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kyle Scott said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

“Flynt refused to exit the bedroom, and the affiant (Scott) heard the distinct metallic sound of rounds being chambered in a firearm,” the warrants said.

Flynt’s boyfriend had told police he owned a handgun and 12-15 long guns that were inside the bedroom, Scott said. Officers later determined there had been one handgun—a .45 caliber—and 17 various long guns—rifles, shotguns, and airsoft—according to the warrants. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, arraignment, Crisis Intervention Team, East Tennessee Avenue, Jock Coleman, Kyle Scott, Oak Ridge Police Department, Perry Lewis, Sara J. Flynt

Second suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots also pleads not guilty

Posted at 4:06 pm January 29, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Michael Benanti

Michael Benanti

KNOXVILLE—A second suspect has also pleaded not guilty to three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge.

One of the suspects, Brian Witham, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday.

The second suspect, Michael Benanti, pleaded not guilty during a Friday afternoon arraignment.

Each man is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if they are convicted on all 15 federal charges that they face. The charges include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Knoxville, Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: arraignment, attempted bank extortion, bank extortion, Brian Witham, carjacking, Dave Lewen, Edward Reinhold, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Michael Benanti, Nancy Stallard Harr, Northeast Community Credit Union, Oak Ridge Police Department, SmartBank, U.S. District Court, United States Attorney, Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots could face mandatory minimum of 142 years in prison

Posted at 3:36 pm January 26, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:10 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—One of the two suspects in three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if he is convicted on all 15 charges that he faces, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

Brian Witham pleaded not guilty to the 15 charges—which include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime—during a 20-minute arraignment and initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Witham

Brian Witham (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)

A trial has been set for March 29.

Witham’s alleged co-conspirator, Michael Benanti, has an initial appearance and arraignment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

The two were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 15 for plots that involved kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton, Tennessee. Benanti, 43, is from Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Witham, 45, is from Waterville, Maine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Federal, Government, Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: arraignment, attempted bank extortion, bank extortion, brandishing a firearm, Brian Witham, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, C. Clifford Shirley, carjacking, Dave Lewen, Edward Reinhold, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Maggie Valley Police Department, Mark Zeigler, Michael Benanti, Nancy Stallard Harr, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Northeast Community Credit Union, Oak Ridge Police Department, SmartBank, Tanner Harris, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. District Court, Y-12 Federal Credit Union

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Classifieds

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Final environmental assessment available for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

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