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TBI: Two juveniles charged with arson in deadly Sevier County wildfires

Posted at 6:45 pm December 7, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Fire Department mitchell-rd Sevier County

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

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

Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the deadly wildfires in Sevier County last week, authorities said Wednesday. The fires burned more than 17,000 acres around the Chimney Tops trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Wears Valley. Fourteen people died, 176 were injured or made ill, and more than 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Local fire departments and law enforcement agencies responded to help fight the fires and provide search and rescue help, among other aid. The fire in the park, the most heavily visited in the United States, and the nearby tourist towns has been described as the largest in Tennessee in at least 100 years.

The charges announced Wednesday afternoon were filed after an investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; National Park Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF; and the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Police and Fire, Tennessee, U.S. Tagged With: aggravated arson, arson, ATF, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, ChIME, fire, Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, James Dunn, National Park Service, Pigeon Forge, Sevier County, Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center, Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Wears Valley, wildfires

Two federal trials rescheduled: One for alleged bank extortion, second for federal gun charge

Posted at 10:56 am April 5, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to an alleged kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. A trial for one of the defendants has been rescheduled to November 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two federal trials for crimes allegedly committed in Oak Ridge, including one that involved an alleged bank extortion attempt, have been rescheduled.

The first trial had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But it has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, November 7. That trial is for Michael Anthony Benanti, 43, of Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Benanti and a co-defendant, Brian Scott Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine, had been named in a 15-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury in December. They were accused of kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton. The Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge was one of the three financial institutions that was targeted.

Witham pleaded guilty March 1. His sentencing is set for August 17. He reportedly faces a minimum 42-year prison term, but could receive a life term. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Knox County, Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: "Art Therapy and Mental Health", Anderson County Sheriff's Department, bank extortion, Brian Scott Witham, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Chelsea Lively, federal trials, firearms, indictment, James Elkins, kidnapping, Larry Dewayne Williams, Michael Anthony Benanti, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rebecca Bobich, robbery, U.S. District Court, Y-12 Federal Credit Union

U.S. attorneys, law enforcement target heroin, opioid trafficking, overdoses

Posted at 8:42 pm August 26, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Bill Killian

William C. “Bill” Killian

DETROIT—U.S. attorneys and leaders of federal law enforcement agencies from across six states met in Detroit on August 26, 2015, to share strategies to combat the heroin and prescription pill epidemic across the region.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee was among those who attended.

The summit was called in response to the national epidemic of heroin and prescription pill abuse that has hit Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, particularly hard. Heroin overdose deaths in the United States have tripled from 2010 to 2013. Nationally, the number of deaths from all drug overdoses exceeded 43,000 last year, more deaths than from traffic accidents. Heroin use in the United States has doubled from 2007 to 2012.

In the Midwest, opioid deaths have increased 62 percent. The summit seeks to target this national and regional problem by dismantling drug trafficking organizations that distribute heroin and prescription pills and by increasing prevention and educational efforts. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Police and Fire, U.S. Tagged With: ATF, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Daniel Salter, DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug overdoses, Eastern District of Tennessee, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, heroin, heroin overdose, Heroin Task Force, HIDTA, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, IRS-CI, Kentucky, law enforcement, Michigan, OCDETF, Ohio, opioid deaths, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Pennsylvania, prescription pill, prescription pill epidemic, Tennessee, U.S. attorneys, U.S. Attorneys Offices, West Virginia, William C. Killian

Houston brothers face federal firearm charges

Posted at 12:28 pm January 15, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Two brothers who were tried twice but never convicted in the 2006 shooting deaths of a Roane County Sheriff’s Department deputy and his ridealong partner are now facing federal charges.

Rocky and Leon Houston were both arrested Friday on federal firearms charges at the family’s home in the Ten Mile community after agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Roane County Sheriff’s Office; and other agencies executed search and arrest warrants.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian says that Rocky Houston is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and that Leon Houston is charged with possession of firearms while being an unlawful user of controlled substances.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: ATF, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Houston brothers, Leon Houston, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Rocky Houston, U.S. Attorney Bill Killian, U.S. Magistrate Bruce Guyton

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

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

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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...]

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