Oak Ridge Today

Records: Man shot last week has history of family disputes

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A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A 61-year-old Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said, after he reportedly came on to his son’s property with a loaded gun and fired several shots toward the house, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight. The son exited his home and returned fire, striking his father once in the buttocks, police said. Police found the man on the ground in front of his home, pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Clinton man who was shot during a dispute with his son last week, reportedly over the positioning of a floodlight, has had other disputes with family members, including another one involving a firearm, according to Anderson County court records.

In one of the previous cases, the man who was shot, Terry Lee Crawford, 61, allegedly vandalized his sister’s house with a tractor in October, also because of a floodlight, the court records said. That case is pending in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Before the alleged vandalism this year, Crawford had pleaded guilty to an assault against his sister and another victim in 2015—that case involved a firearm—and to an attempted assault against his son in 2016.

The incidents have involved three homes plus Crawford’s, all on Lee Lane in west Clinton, court records said.

Besides those cases, there is an indictment pending against Crawford for driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.

It’s not clear what charges might be filed after last week’s shooting. Crawford was taken to the hospital after the shooting. He was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Monday. But affidavits, which include specific charges and brief descriptions of alleged crimes, were not available on Tuesday.

On Thursday, the day after the shooting, the district attorney general’s office called Crawford a “danger to society” and asked that his bond be revoked or increased in two of the previous cases. The motion appears to have been successful, at least for now; Crawford’s bond has been set at $1.7 million, an unusually large bond, and he remained in custody on Tuesday night, according to Anderson County jail records.

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Updated: Man injured in Clinton shooting

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A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. Dec. 27.

CLINTON—A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The shooting was reported at about 4:42 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Lee Lane and State Route 61, which connects Oak Ridge and Clinton. It involved a dispute between a father and his son, and the father was shot in the buttocks, police said. The two men were reported to have been shooting at each other in a yard at that intersection.

When officers arrived, they found Terry Lee Crawford, 61, on the ground in front of his home. Crawford’s home is next to his son’s home, where the shooting occurred. Crawford was bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound, the Clinton Police Department said. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He was in stable condition on Thursday morning, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Clinton Police Chief Vaughn Becker told WYSH Radio on Thursday that the elder Crawford had run back to his own property before collapsing in his yard. [Read more…]

ASAP partners with Oak Ridge, Clinton police for Drug Take Back Day

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Naloxone training offered at Drug Take Back Day, which is this Saturday

Anderson County is participating in a Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.

It’s the 15th Annual DEA Rx Drug Take Back Day on October 27. The DEA is the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County ‘take back’ locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, a press release said. Collection sites will be located at the police departments listed below. Each department will be set up outside in their respective parking lots to receive the expired or unused medicines, the release said. [Read more…]

Warrants: Clinton man arrested after AC man shot in leg, stomach

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Alexander William Carter

Alexander William Carter

 

A Clinton man has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after an Anderson County man was allegedly shot in the stomach and left leg after an argument early Monday morning, court records said.

The shooting was reported at about 3:30 a.m. Monday on Leach Lane in Anderson County, north of Clinton and west of Highway 25.

The injuries to the male victim, Nathan Robert Gifford, appeared to be non-life threatening, according to a Monday press release from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. Gifford was alert and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where he had to have a surgery to treat his injuries, the press release said.

Warrants filed in the case said the alleged shooter, Alexander William Carter, 20, had been arguing with Gifford, who lives in the Leach Lane home, when Gifford told Carter to leave.

Carter left but returned less than five minutes later and started shooting, said the warrants, which cited Gifford. One bullet struck Gifford in the stomach, and another round hit him in the left leg, the warrants said. [Read more…]

Clinton man charged with attempted murder

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Sidney Bruce Jarvis

Sidney Bruce Jarvis

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 18.

A Clinton man was charged with attempted first-degree murder and domestic assault after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck, tossed her out of a shower, and fired a handgun at her three times, court records said.

The armed disturbance was reported on Blockhouse Valley Road in Clinton on April 3. The defendant, Sidney Bruce Jarvis, 57, has a hearing scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The April incident was the second time in two months that Jarvis was accused of assaulting the woman and firing a gun, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

After he was read his Miranda rights in April, Jarvis told Clinton Police Department Officer Austin Powell that he pulled the female victim out of the shower because she “would not stop running her mouth,” the affidavits said.

He said he fired his handgun to get her attention, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Criminal case pending against man accused of crashing into school playground

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Charles Eric Harmon

Charles Eric Harmon

 

A criminal case is pending against a Claxton man who was allegedly intoxicated when he crashed through a chain link fence into a playground at an elementary school in Clinton and almost hit two officers with three school-aged children, Anderson County court records said.

Charles Eric Harmon, 59, had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his breath and person,” and he told officers he was intoxicated and had “shot up heroin” earlier in the day and shouldn’t have been driving, Clinton Police Department Sergeant Scott Gregory said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Harmon has been charged with driving under the influence and five felony counts of reckless endangerment.

The crash was reported on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at Clinton Elementary School on North Hicks Street. Harmon has a pre-trial conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, July 30, 2018, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Affidavits filed by Gregory after the crash in October said a vehicle driven by Harmon had traveled through a chain link fence into the Clinton Elementary School playground and uphill into a tree. The Clinton Police Department and Clinton Fire Department both responded. [Read more…]

Three charged with financial exploitation, theft of more than $60,000

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Johnnie Shane Munsey

Johnnie Shane Munsey

An Andersonville man and two Andersonville women have been charged with financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable person and theft of more than $60,000, according to Anderson County court records.

The three are Johnnie Shane Munsey, 46; Phyllis Joan Spradling, 71; and Tammie Jo Munsey, 42. They were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on July 10. The two exploitation and theft charges are both Class B felonies.

The three defendants, who all live at the same address in Andersonville, are accused of financially exploiting an elderly or vulnerable adult between December 30, 2015, through November 1, 2017, the court records said.

And they are accused of obtaining property, including but not limited to U.S. currency valued at more than $60,000, from the victim, Jimmy Spradling, without his consent, the indictments said. [Read more…]

Courts: Trial scheduled in fatal car-motorcycle crash

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Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

CLINTON—A trial has been scheduled this month for an Oak Ridge woman charged with homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016.

Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

CLINTON—A trial has been scheduled this month for an Oak Ridge woman charged with homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016.

The felony jury trial for Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, is scheduled for July 24 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Patty has been charged with homicide in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.

On Friday, Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge rejected a motion to dismiss two of the five charges filed against Patty: criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved. The Anderson County Grand Jury has found probable cause on the five charges, Elledge said, and no facts or evidence had been presented to the court yet. He called the motion to dismiss “totally premature.”

Patty was indicted on the five charges by the Anderson County Grand Jury on August 1, 2017. Besides homicide and reckless endangerment, the charges included failure to yield the right-of-way resulting in death, failure to obey a traffic control device, and failure to provide proof of insurance.

The crash occurred between a Cadillac STS car and Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle on Sunday evening, January 31, 2016, at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center. Authorities said Patty, who was driving the Cadillac, made an improper left turn from a right-turn-only lane at that exit, and she failed to yield to Shephard, who was riding the motorcycle north on North Illinois Avenue. Shephard died after he collided with the car, which was turning south in “the pathway of northbound traffic,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Luethge said in arrest warrants filed after the crash.

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. The rest of the story includes information about the “undisputed facts,” results of alcohol and drug tests, and arguments for and against dismissing two of the five charges.

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CPD Chief Scarbrough moving to UT’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center

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Rick Scarbrough

Rick Scarbrough

Rick Scarbrough is leaving the Clinton Police Department after 16 years as chief. Scarbrough has accepted a position as executive director of the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center.

On Tuesday, the City of Clinton said it announced the departure with mixed emotions.

“When I say mixed emotions, I’m excited for the opportunity my friend has, but as city manager, I obviously hate to lose him as our police chief,” Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said in a press release.

Houck said he and Scarbrough have discussed the possibility the chief could be leaving, and they both think Assistant Chief Vaughn Becker is ready for the opportunity.

“We have had a succession plan in place for some time,” Houck said. Becker will become the interim Clinton police chief effective August 1. [Read more…]

McGuire Books closing, while Packard’s store re-opened

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McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store, which also sells CDs, DVDs, games, and electronics, on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store, which also sells CDs, DVDs, games, and electronics, on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

McGuire Books in Oak Ridge is closing, while Packard’s Games and Movies in Clinton has re-opened and Packard’s in Kingston is expected to re-open.

The McGuire Books store in Oak Ridge, which also sells compact discs, digital video discs, games, and electronics, said it was closing after it was searched and some items were seized by law enforcement starting at about noon Thursday, May 24. The store was open the next day, Friday of last week, with a skeleton crew of staff members, although there were, at that time, shelves that were conspicuously empty at the front of the store. Law enforcement officers were reported to have taken DVDs, games, and some other items.

The search last week, which continued into Thursday night and involved several large moving trucks, was led by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force of Anderson County. The CTF was helped by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the Eighth Judicial District Drug Task Force, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Clinton Police Department. Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark and Assistant District Attorney General Ryan Spitzer were also at the store.

Officers were observed removing boxes of items from McGuire Books and packing them into the moving trucks last week. Crime scene tape blocked entry to the store, and a Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force crime scene truck was parked out front. The purpose of the search has not been announced. [Read more…]

Law enforcement search at McGuire could continue through Thursday night

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The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue throughout the night Thursday May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue through the night Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:45 a.m. May 25.

The law enforcement search at McGuire—a store that sells used books, compact discs, digital video discs, and electronics—is expected to last hours and continue through the night (Thursday night).

The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force of Anderson County executed search warrants at McGuire Used Books, CDs, DVDs, Games, and More starting at about noon Thursday. There were reported to be about a dozen employees in the store at the time the search began.

Authorities declined to say why they were searching the store on Thursday afternoon. But they had a stack of moving boxes ready to be folded and numerous boxes folded and ready to be used, and there were several moving trucks parked near the store, including one right in front of it.

Crime scene tape blocked entry to the store, and a Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force crime scene truck was parked out front.

At about 10 p.m. Thursday, it appeared that boxes with items inside were occasionally being brought out of the store and loaded into the moving truck parked in front of McGuire. [Read more…]

Anderson County man indicted on carjacking, assault charges

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Justin Wade Welch

Justin Wade Welch

 

An Anderson County man who allegedly took two cars by force and tried to take another in Clinton in March 2017 has been indicted on carjacking and assault charges by the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Justin Wade Welch, 31, was charged in an eight-count indictment filed April 3. At the time of the indictment, he had been jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton since March 30, 2017, the date of the alleged incident.

The charges against Welch include three counts of carjacking and one count each of attempted carjacking, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (a vehicle), evading arrest, driving on a suspended or revoked license, and resisting a stop, search, or arrest involving a weapon (a vehicle).

Charges against Welch had been waived to the Grand Jury in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on September 6.

He pleaded not guilty to the eight indicted charges in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on April 30. [Read more…]