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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

Man charged with attempted murder after stabbing

Posted at 1:51 pm June 3, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with attempted murder after a stabbing was reported early Monday.

Jordan Young, 33, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The warrants said the stabbing was reported on Utica Circle at about 4:24 a.m. Monday.

Police learned that a man had been stabbed multiple times in the abdomen and leg, the warrants said. Friends had taken him to the hospital.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, attempted second-degree murder, Jordan Young, Oak Ridge Police Department, stabbing, Utica Circle

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 convicted of attempted murder

Posted at 1:07 pm July 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

McKinley Earl McGee

An Oak Ridge man who had been accused of stabbing his girlfriend and trying to kill her last year was convicted of attempted murder this week.

McKinley Earl McGee, 50, was convicted after a jury trial that started Tuesday morning in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark announced the conviction in a press release on Wednesday. The 12-person jury deliberated about 58 minutes before returning with its verdict, Clark said.

McGee was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, Clark said.

McGee was convicted of stabbing and trying to kill Machel Elaine Avery on Utica Circle in Oak Ridge on January 12, 2018, Clark said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Chris Wallace, Curtis W. Isabell, Dave Clark, Donald Elledge, Machel Elaine Avery, McKinley Earl McGee, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Seventh Judicial Distirct, stabbing, Tony Craighead

Clinton man charged with attempted murder

Posted at 8:13 am June 27, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Terry Lee Crawford

The Clinton man who allegedly shot at two people before one of them, his son, shot back, has been charged with attempted murder, according to court records.

The Anderson County Grand Jury indicted Terry Lee Crawford, 62, on two counts of attempted second-degree murder on June 4. Those charges allege that Crawford tried to kill Joshua Crawford and Ashlee Crawford. The alleged shooting was reported at a home adjacent to Crawford’s on Lee Lane in Clinton on December 26.

Crawford was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of reckless endangerment. The aggravated assault charges allege that Crawford caused Joshua and Ashlee Crawford to fear imminent bodily injury because of the gun, and the reckless endangerment charges allege that Terry Crawford engaged in reckless conduct that placed Joshua and Ashlee Crawford in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury through the use of a deadly weapon.

Crawford faces two other charges as well: being a convicted felon who possessed a handgun and vandalism between $1,000 and $2,500. The vandalism charge alleges that Crawford damaged the exterior of Joshua and Ashlee Crawford’s home, causing more than $1,000 in damage.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Clinton, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, Ashlee Crawford, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Clinton Police Department, Danielle K. Alexander, Don Elledge, Joshua Crawford, Lee Lane, reckless endangerment, shooting, Terry Lee Crawford, vandalism

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

Posted at 2:33 pm March 7, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

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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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.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Anthony Craighead, assault, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, Brennan Lenihan, carjacking, Don Elledge, especially aggravated kidnapping, Jason Bradley Braden, plea agreement, Randy Lewis, Rodney Minor, Seventh Judicial District, Sharon Baird

Oak Ridge man charged with attempted murder

Posted at 2:51 pm June 6, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

McKinley Earl McGee

McKinley Earl McGee

 

An Oak Ridge man has ben charged with attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed a woman in the torso with a knife during a dispute over money in January, according to Anderson County court records.

McKinley Earl McGee, 49, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on May 1. His charges include attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault that resulted in serious bodily injury.

McGee has an arraignment scheduled for June 25 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

The alleged stabbing occurred in an apartment on Utica Circle in Oak Ridge on January 12, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Wallace. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault that resulted in serious bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Chris Wallace, Machel E. Avery, McKinley Earl McGee, Oak Ridge Police Department

Man charged with attempted murder

Posted at 1:08 pm May 1, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jeremy Jon Bessette

Jeremy Jon Bessette

 

One Oak Ridge man was beaten in the head with a wrench on Thursday after a social media conversation, and another was charged with attempted murder after an alleged assault on South Walker Lane.

The victim, Andrew Steelman, had been talking to someone on social media that he thought was the girlfriend of Jeremy Jon Bessette, 40, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

But it turned out that Steelman was not talking to Bessette’s girlfriend, but rather to Bessette, who was posing online as his girlfriend while Steelman “flirted with her,” the affidavits said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department first learned of the incident when they were notified of a physical disturbance on South Walker Lane at 1:53 p.m. Thursday. There, a witness said a man, later identified as Bessette, entered the home and began hitting another man in the head with what appeared to be a wrench, according to the affidavits, which were filed by ORPD Officer Perry Lewis.

The alleged assailant then got into a dark-colored Pontiac and fled, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Andrew Steelman, assault, attempted murder, attempted second-degree murder, Jeremy Jon Bessette, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD

Two hit in arms during Claxton shooting

Posted at 1:10 pm February 10, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

 

CLAXTON—Two men were hit in the arms during the shooting in Claxton on Saturday evening, January 13, and the Oak Ridge man charged with attempted murder in the case also shot at a woman but missed, according to court records.

The shooting at the home at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road allegedly occurred “during some type of altercation” in a bedroom, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 23, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment in the shooting.

The affidavits, which summarize the alleged facts of the case and are attached to arrest warrants, said Rutherford pulled a handgun from his waistband during the altercation, pointed it at Nathan Phillips, 36, and fired. Phillips had two gunshot wounds to his left upper arm, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Claxton, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: accessory after the fact, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, Brenda Foster, Claxton shooting, Clinton Highway, especially aggravated kidnapping, Harold Crowley, Jacob Lynn Rutherford, Lonesome Dove Road, Maggie Atteberry, Mark Lucas, Nathan Phillips, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, reckless endangerment, Sherrill Selby, shooting, William Foster

Attempted murder charge dismissed, woman pleads guilty to aggravated assault

Posted at 9:52 am March 22, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Treasure Sheitel Threat

Treasure Sheitel Threat

An attempted murder charge was dismissed, and an Oak Ridge woman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault this month.

Treasure Sheitel Threat, 30, had been indicted on charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in October 2013. She was accused of stabbing Kingston resident Stanley Wallace in the stomach in his car at the intersection of Robin Lane and Raleigh Road on July 27, 2012, after an argument in Grove Center.

Arrest warrants filed in 2012 said another woman had summoned Threat to Grove Center, but she forgot that Wallace and Threat didn’t like each other. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault, attempted second-degree murder, Stanley Wallace, Treasure Sheitel Threat

Attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping charges dismissed

Posted at 6:22 pm August 12, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, assault, attempted second-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, Jacob Lynn Rutherford, Kenneth Prickett, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Sherrill Selby

Oak Ridge man accused of assaulting two women, one with metal rod

Posted at 6:18 pm April 29, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:15 a.m. April 30.

An Oak Ridge man is accused of assaulting two women in two separate incidents, and he allegedly used a metal rod in one of the beatings, authorities said. Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 21, is also accused of hitting one of the women in the head with a gun and forcing her into his vehicle at gunpoint, according to arrest warrants.

Rutherford has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and assault, according to the warrants, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The first alleged assault occurred on February 25 and the second on April 28, the warrants said. Police responded to both alleged assaults at 101 Locust Lane, where Rutherford lives.

In the first case, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kenneth Prickett said the victim, a Powell woman, showed signs of bruising around her right eye and blood around her nose.

“(She) also showed bruising around her right wrist and swelling in her right hand,” Prickett said in an arrest warrant. [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, assault, attempted second-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, Jacob Lynn Rutherford, Kenneth Prickett, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Sherrill Selby

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