Oak Ridge Today

WYSH: CPD investigating fatal shooting at Walmart in Clinton

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Information from WYSH Radio

Officers from the Clinton Police Department, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and other emergency personnel were investigating a fatal shooting in the parking lot of Walmart in Clinton on Friday afternoon.

Few details have been released as of Friday afternoon, but one person is dead and another is in custody. No names have been released at this time.

The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, and it prompted a massive response from law enforcement and emergency personnel. [Read more…]

Using DUI simulation goggles, ACHS students learn how alcohol, drugs impair driving

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The School Resource Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff's Department and Allies For Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP, in cooperation with Anderson County Schools, hosted a DUI Simulation Event on Friday morning, April 21, 2017 for students at Anderson County High School. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff's Department)

The School Resource Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Allies For Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP, in cooperation with Anderson County Schools, hosted a DUI Simulation Event on Friday morning, April 21, 2017 for students at Anderson County High School. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

The School Resource Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Allies For Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP, in cooperation with Anderson County Schools, hosted a DUI Simulation Event on Friday morning for students at Anderson County High School.

Using DUI simulation goggles, students were able to see first-hand the effects of driving while under the influence, or DUI. These goggles simulate different levels of blood alcohol in a person’s system, a press release said. Students drove golf carts through a driving course and participated in field sobriety tests. All of the students who were “tested” could see how alcohol and drugs can seriously impair driving and coordination, the press release said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Clinton Police Department, Anderson County EMS, Anderson County Rescue Squad, Andersonville Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, and Lifestar, along with representatives with Anderson County Schools, were on hand for this event. [Read more…]

Warrants: Anderson County man allegedly carjacked two vehicles in Clinton, tried to steal third

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Justin Wade Welch

Justin Wade Welch

 

An Anderson County man is facing 13 charges that include carjacking and robbery after allegedly taking two cars by force and trying to take another in Clinton on Thursday, and then fleeing from officers and resisting arrest, according to arrest warrants.

Justin Wade Welch, 30, remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday morning. His bond has been set at $500,000.

Welch has been charged with two counts of carjacking and one count of attempted carjacking. He’s also been charged with three counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.

The Clinton Police Department also charged him with two counts of vehicular assault.

And the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department charged him with evading arrest, resisting arrest, and driving on a suspended license.

Arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton said Welch allegedly carjacked one vehicle at Clinton Towers on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in downtown Clinton, tried to carjack a second vehicle several blocks south at Food City on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, and carjacked a third vehicle on Highland Drive next to Food City. [Read more…]

Clinton man sentenced to 30 years in death of mother fleeing dispute

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Kieth William Pittman

Kieth William Pittman

 

CLINTON—A Clinton man was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday for the 2014 stabbing death of a mother trying to flee a domestic dispute.

Kieth William Pittman, 28, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder and a second charge of tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 25 years on the second-degree murder charge and five years on the tampering with evidence charge.

The sentences must be served consecutively, meaning Pittman has an effective 30-year sentence, Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge said during a plea agreement hearing in Clinton on Thursday.

The victim, Heather McKamey, 22, was a mother of three boys. She and Pittman had two of the boys together.

McKamey was stabbed outside her apartment at 301 Park Avenue in north Clinton after an argument between her and Pittman became physical at about 2:25 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2014, according to police reports and an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

“While both the victim (McKamey) and suspect (Pittman) were in the driveway, the suspect stabbed the victim in the stomach with the knife he had taken from the kitchen,” according to the affidavit, filed by Clinton Police Department Detective Sergeant Russell Barker. “Witnesses advised the victim fled down Park Avenue to McAdoo Street yelling for help, and the suspect chased her.” [Read more…]

Two arrested on drug charges, two on outstanding warrants after Vermont Ave search

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Charges are pending after a search warrant was served as part of an investigation into illegal drug activity on Vermont Avenue on Friday morning, Feb. 24, 2017, authorities said. The search warrant was served by members of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force and the Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT and patrol staff. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Charges are pending after a search warrant was served as part of an investigation into illegal drug activity on Vermont Avenue on Friday morning, Feb. 24, 2017, authorities said. The search warrant was served by members of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force and the Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT and patrol staff. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Two people were arrested on drug charges and two were arrested on outstanding warrants after a search of a Vermont Avenue home on Friday morning, authorities said.

The search of the home at 306 Vermont Avenue, across from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in central Oak Ridge, came after an investigation by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force.

The Oak Ridge Police Department SWAT team entered the house early Friday morning with help from ORPD patrol officers.

Once the house was secure, agents from the Crime Task Force searched the home, detained several people, and conducted interviews as part of their investigation, a press release said. [Read more…]

Bicyclist, 85, dies in fatal bike-SUV crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An 85-year-old Oak Ridge bicyclist died in the Sunday afternoon crash between a sport utility vehicle and a bike on Highway 58 in west Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:50 p.m. Sunday at State Route 58 and State Route 327, also known as Blair Road, just east of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site).

The bicyclist, an 85-year-old man from Oak Ridge, died as a result of his injuries, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

“At the request of the family, the name of the bicyclist is not being released at this time,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Bicyclist dies after SUV-bike crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a fatal crash between an SUV and a bicycle at Highway 58 and Blair Road on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m.

A bicyclist died after a crash between a sport utility vehicle and a bike on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge on Sunday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:52 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 58 and Blair Road. The male bicyclist had been taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge after the crash.

Highway 58 is temporarily closed at the intersection with Blair Road, and vehicles are being detoured as police investigate. [Read more…]

TBI has press conference today on fraudulent liens, arrests in East Tennessee

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will have a press conference this afternoon (Thursday, February 16) to discuss an investigation into fraudulent liens and arrests made in East Tennessee.

It’s not clear how many arrests were made or where, and who was arrested. But WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that local, state, and federal law enforcement officers assisted the TBI in arresting a suspect in South Clinton on Wednesday.

Oak Ridge Today received a report that the TBI and Federal Bureau of Investigation were both at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Wednesday during the trial for Lee Harold Cromwell. Cromwell is a 67-year-old Oak Ridge man convicted Wednesday in Anderson County Criminal Court of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault for a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015. It has been alleged, including in court hearings, that Cromwell is a sovereign citizen, or someone who might not recognize certain government authorities, although neither he nor his defense attorney have acknowledged in court hearings that he is.

Officials haven’t confirmed whether the investigation into fraudulent liens by the TBI includes the $137 million in liens filed by Cromwell against local law enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service, or Social Security, but they did announce after his convictions on Wednesday that Cromwell had been indicted in Davidson County, where the TBI is based. Cromwell’s bail was revoked, and he was immediately taken into custody. [Read more…]

Fatal crash: One adult released from hospital; police officers start memorial with stuffed animals

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Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals on Saturday morning for a three-year-old child killed in a fatal crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One adult passenger injured in a fatal two-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge on Friday has been released from the hospital, a city official said Saturday. And Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial at the crash site, leaving stuffed animals there Saturday morning.

The fatal crash was reported at about 5:15 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive. Police said the crash killed one three-year-old child and injured another child, and it also injured four adults. The five people who were injured and the child who died were all taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a Level I trauma center. All six had been in the same vehicle, an older model dark-colored or black sport utility vehicle.

On Saturday, Sarah Self, spokesperson for the City of Oak Ridge, said one of the adult passengers was released from UT Medical Center.

The condition of the other injured patients (three adults and one child) was not available, Self said.

Five people in the second vehicle involved in the crash, a newer silver Volkswagen sedan, were not injured, Self said. There were four adults and one child in that car. [Read more…]

Child dies, five injured in crash

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Fatal-Crash-Emory-Valley-Road-Lafayette-Drive-Intersection-Jan-13-2017-Slider

A three-year-old died and five other people were taken to a trauma center in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m. Jan 16.

A three-year-old died and five other people were taken to a trauma center in Knoxville after a serious crash in Oak Ridge on Friday evening, authorities said.

The fatal two-vehicle crash involved 11 people. It was reported at about 5:15 p.m. Friday at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

Those taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a Level 1 Trauma Center, were four adults and two children. One of those children is the three-year-old who died (the child was initially reported to be four). The four adults and two children were all in one vehicle, an older model dark-colored or black sport utility vehicle, or SUV.

Five people in a second vehicle—four adults and one child—were reported to not have injuries, according to the City of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Clinton police looking for missing juvenile

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The Clinton Police Department is asking for help finding a missing juvenile. Isaac Deandre Armes, 15, is a resident of Oliver Springs, and he was last seen in the Park Avenue area of North Clinton, the CPD said Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. (Photo courtesy CPD)

 

The Clinton Police Department is asking for help finding a missing juvenile.

Isaac Deandre Armes, 15, is a resident of Oliver Springs, and he was last seen in the Park Avenue area of North Clinton, the Clinton Police Department said.

He is approximately 5’8″ and 140 pounds with brown eyes, brown hair, and a mole on his chin. [Read more…]

Hearing scheduled for OS man charged in two store robberies

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Wallace Wade Tidwell

Wallace Wade Tidwell

 

A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for an Oliver Springs man charged in two store robberies in Clinton.

The first robbery was reported at the Clinton BP on North Charles Seivers Boulevard on June 13, 2015, and the second was reported at Rocky Top Market in Clinton on July 19, 2016.

Wallace Wade Tidwell III, 38, of Kingston Avenue in Oliver Springs, is charged with aggravated robbery in the first case, and robbery in the second. A hearing for him has been set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

In the first case, the robbery reported at Clinton BP in June 2015, Tidwell allegedly came out of the bathroom, approached a store clerk behind the counter, and demanded money from the cash register—after telling the clerk he “had a bad day,” according to an affidavit filed in General Sessions Court. [Read more…]