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Meth, conspiracy charges dismissed after warrantless search

Posted at 12:39 pm January 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

Citing a warrantless search, an Anderson County judge has dismissed drug and conspiracy charges in a case where police allegedly found 45.1 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack in an Oak Ridge motel room in May.

“I hate to dismiss serious charges,” said Roger Miller, judge of the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. But, he added, “I don’t think the proof would hold up.”

Suggesting that a search warrant should have been obtained, Miller said he is accessible and signs many search warrants.

The two people charged in the case had been William Michael Renfro, 18, of Oak Ridge, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22, also of Oak Ridge.

Renfro had been charged with manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule II controlled substance (the 45.1 grams of meth), a Class A felony; criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony; manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule IV controlled substance (9.5 grams of marijuana), a Class D felony; and possession of a firearm (a Ruger Security Six .357 revolver with six rounds) during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class D felony.

All four of those charges were dismissed after a preliminary hearing for Renfro in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Thursday, December 12. During a preliminary hearing, a judge can hear from witnesses, victims, and police officers, and determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Adam Fairbanks, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Carlie Alise Wisman, criminal conspiracy, Kevin Angel, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule II controlled substance, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule IV controlled substance, methamphetamine, Oak Ridge Police Department, possession of a firearm, preliminary hearing, Roger Miller, search warrant, warrantless search, William Michael Renfro

Six women arrested for allegedly conspiring to steal shoes in Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:41 pm November 25, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Rack Room Shoes Theft Oak Ridge Police Department Nov 21 2019
Six women were arrested Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, after they allegedly ran from Rack Room Shoes in Main Street Oak Ridge with about $3,300 worth of stolen merchandise, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

Six women were arrested Thursday and charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after they allegedly ran from a shoe store in Main Street Oak Ridge with about $3,300 worth of stolen merchandise, police officers said.

Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Marvell Moore said he had been conducting a retail theft patrol near Rack Room Shoes at about 1:19 p.m. Thursday. While in the parking lot, Moore said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, he saw the women enter Rack Room Shoes with large purses and plastic bags that appeared to be empty.

“Based on my training and experience, I know that shoplifters will carry large empty bags to conceal merchandise,” Moore said in the warrants.

After a short time, Moore said he saw the women run out of Rack Room Shoes with the same bags that they had when they entered. However, now the bags were full, Moore said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, criminal conspiracy, Marvell Moore, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Rack Room Shoes, shoe store, shoplifters, stolen merchandise, theft

Warrants: Police find about three ounces of suspected meth

Posted at 10:12 am September 24, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Otis Kevin Aslinger
Otis Kevin Aslinger

Two men have been charged with a Class A felony drug crime after police allegedly found about three ounces of suspected methamphetamine during a search of a vehicle in Oak Ridge in August, according to court records.

Warrants filed in the case said the vehicle, a pickup truck, was searched after agents of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force and officers of the Oak Ridge Police Department conducted surveillance along South Illinois Avenue at about 6 p.m. Monday, August 5.

“A black Chevrolet step-side pickup truck was observed pulling into the parking lot of Big Lots (at) 250 South Illinois Avenue,” the warrants said. “The female driver of the vehicle parked while a male passenger exited and got into the passenger side of a newer model Ford F-150 pickup.”

Agents identified both the driver of the F-150 and the passenger, according to the warrants, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by CTF Agent S. Perry Lewis.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County General Sessions Court, criminal conspiracy, CTF, drug crime, drug-free school zone, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing methamphetamine, meth, methamphetamine, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Otis Kevin Aslinger, Perry Lewis, probation violation, Rayshawn Lee Freeman, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Timothy Buckner

Two charged with conspiracy after 45 grams of meth allegedly found in motel room

Posted at 11:00 am August 30, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

An Oak Ridge man and woman are facing drug and conspiracy charges after 45.1 grams of methamphetamine were allegedly found in a motel room on South Illinois Avenue in May, according to court records.

Charged in the case are William Michael Renfro, 18, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22.

Carlie Alise Wisman
Carlie Alise Wisman

A black backpack with 45.1 grams of methamphetamine was found in a room at Days Inn on May 7, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Adam Fairbanks.

Video from a surveillance camera showed Renfro entering the motel room with the black backpack, and another video showed him leaving the room without the backpack, Fairbanks wrote in the affidavits. Affidavits are narrative descriptions of alleged crimes that are attached to arrest warrants.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Adam Fairbanks, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Carlie Alise Wisman, criminal conspiracy, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule II controlled substance, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule IV controlled substance, meth, methamphetamine, Oak Ridge Police Department, William Michael Renfro

Clinton store clerk, accomplice arrested after robbery reported

Posted at 3:03 pm February 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image by Clinton Police Department

Image by Clinton Police Department

 

Clinton Police Department officers arrested a Lee’s Travel Center clerk and another man in connection with the report of an aggravated robbery of the convenience store on February 5, the CPD said in a post published on Facebook.

Reports said Justin Pennington was working at the store at 2233 North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton when a masked man pulled out a knife and told him to open the cash register or he would stab him, the CPD said.

Clinton Police Department Investigator Sergeant Scott Gregory, after reviewing store surveillance and gathering more information, discovered that the masked man, who was identified as Jacob T. Maiden, took money from the cash register and then placed two bags of suspected narcotics on the counter and left the scene, the CPD said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Front Page News, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated robbery, Clinton Police Department, CPD, criminal conspiracy, Jacob T. Maiden, Justin Pennington, Lee’s Travel Center, manufacture/delivery/sale/possession of methamphetamine, possession of schedule II drugs, robbery, Scott Gregory, theft of property

Updated: Man shot in leg while allegedly trying to steal trailer

Posted at 8:02 pm November 27, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 8:55 p.m.

A man was shot in the leg early Tuesday while attempting to steal a utility trailer and rail buggy in Anderson County, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at about 2:19 a.m. Tuesday when two men tried to steal the utility trailer and hook it up to a vehicle on Sulphur Springs Road, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

The property owner told Deputy Randy Seay, that after hearing noises, he and his son went outside and saw a dark vehicle backed up to their utility trailer, which was loaded with a rail buggy. The property owner noticed two people, later identified as Bret Weaver, 40, and Joey Seiber, 27, trying to hook up the trailer to their vehicle, Mayes said in a media release. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Bret Weaver, criminal conspiracy, Joey Seiber, property theft, Randy Seay, shooting, Sulphur Springs Road, Tyler Mayes

Knoxville man indicted in alleged robbery that ended in shooting

Posted at 3:23 pm September 9, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Matthew Allen Mashburn

Matthew Allen Mashburn

 

A Knoxville man has been indicted in an alleged robbery that was reportedly set up through social media and resulted in a man being shot in the legs on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge in November.

Matthew Allen Mashburn, 28, of Knox Lane in Knoxville, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, and aggravated assault. He was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, September 5.

The indictments said that the victim, Wesley Arnold, was seriously injured and assaulted while a handgun was displayed, and Mashburn had conspired with Nicole Brewer to plan the aggravated robbery during a drug transaction.

Mashburn has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, September 29, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, aggravated robbery, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, criminal conspiracy, drug deal gone bad, especially aggravated robbery, John Criswell, Marvell Moore, Matthew Allen Mashburn, Nicholas Strickland, Nicole Brewer, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery, shooting, Wesley Arnold

Robbery that ends in shooting arranged through social media, described as ‘drug deal gone bad,’ warrants say

Posted at 12:50 pm November 17, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said. The three defendants are, from left, Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge; Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knoxville. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff's Department)

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said. The three defendants are, from left, Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge; Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knoxville. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said.

The shooting, which injured Wesley Arnold of Peach Orchard Road in Clinton, occurred at about 12:58 p.m. Tuesday at 104 East Holston Lane. Arnold had two gunshot wounds, one to each leg. He was hit as he attempted to flee the East Holston Lane home, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Marvell Moore.

After the shooting, three people were quickly arrested and charged with especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony; aggravated assault, a Class C felony; and criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony. They are Nicholas Strickland, 25, of South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge; Nicole Brewer, 19, of Highland Avenue in Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knox Lane in Knoxville.

Brewer told Moore that she arranged the robbery, and she contacted Arnold, the victim, through a social media site to conduct the deal, Moore wrote in the warrants.

“She (Brewer) advised the drug deal was supposed to be a ‘rip,’ meaning there wasn’t going to be any money exchanged for the substance (methamphetamine),” Moore said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County General Sessions Court, criminal conspiracy, East Holston Lane, especially aggravated robbery, John Criswell, Marvell Moore, Matthew Mashburn, Nicholas Strickland, Nicole Brewer, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery, shooting, Wesley Arnold

Charges in alleged robbery at Family Dollar in OS sent to grand jury

Posted at 2:53 pm September 2, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Steven-Scruggs-Preliminary-Hearing-Aug-23-2016

Robbery charges filed against Steven Scruggs, 31, of Oliver Springs, in orange above, were sent to a grand jury during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:05 p.m.

The robbery, attempted robbery, and theft charges filed against an Oliver Springs man after an alleged robbery at Family Dollar in July have been sent to a grand jury.

Steven Scruggs, 31, had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, August 23. His two co-defendants, also Oliver Springs residents, were in court as well. One pleaded guilty to one charge, and another waived one to a grand jury.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller found probable cause to send the robbery, attempted robbery, and theft charges filed against Scruggs to the grand jury after hearing testimony from employee Kimberly Armes, who was working at the store the evening of July 20, when the alleged robbery occurred, and from Oliver Springs Police Department Lieutenant David Laxton, who investigated it. All three charges are felony charges.

A false imprisonment charge that had also been filed against Scruggs was dismissed.

The robbery was reported at about 10:04 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at the Family Dollar store, which is at 51 Edmonds Drive in Oliver Springs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, arrest warrants, attempted accessory after the fact, attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation of a felony, criminal responsibility for facilitation of a felony, David Laxton, Family Dollar, grand jury, Kevin Armes, Kimberly Armes, Nancy Meyer, Nathaniel Nelson, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, OSPD, Patricia Rhea, Rachael Weir, robbery, Roger Miller, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Steven Scruggs, theft

Claxton couple arrested Sunday after robbery, prostitution investigation

Posted at 5:27 pm May 23, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Richard Paul Pressley

Richard Paul Pressley

A Claxton husband and wife were arrested Sunday after a robbery and prostitution investigation in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road, authorities said.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies were called to meet with a 32-year-old victim who said he had been robbed at gunpoint at a mobile home on Queen Street after replying to a Backpage.com advertisement for escort services, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. The victim told deputies he had met a female at the residence, and after a short time a male entered, brandished a handgun, and robbed him of cash, the press release said.

He was then tied up and left in a bedroom, authorities said. The victim was able to free himself and flee out a window.

Deputies responded and, after an investigation, the two residents of the mobile home, Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 26, and her husband, Richard Paul Pressley, 29, were both charged with several felony offenses related to the robbery as well as prostitution. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, Anderson County Detention Facility, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, criminal conspiracy, Criminal Investigations Unit, Lindsay Elaine Pressley, promoting prostitution, property theft, prostitution, Queen Street, Richard Paul Pressley, robbery, Rodney Minor

Four young adults indicted in alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money

Posted at 3:24 pm January 13, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Raymond R. Gray

Raymond R. Gray

Four young Oak Ridge adults have been indicted in an alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money.

The alleged armed robbery occurred on Highland Avenue at about midnight April 1, 2015, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in warrants filed last year in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The victim said three men who had their faces covered robbed her at gunpoint and fled in a black Chevy sedan, the warrants said. The victim followed them north on Highland Avenue.

ORPD Officer Ray Steakley located the car at the intersection of State Route 61 and State Route 62, and he pulled over the car on Midway Road in Oliver Springs.

Christopher D. Ramsey

Christopher D. Ramsey

One of the defendants, Whitney T. Stewart, 22, of Oak Ridge, was driving, Higgins said. The other three co-defendants—Raymond R. Gray, 21; Christopher D. Ramsey, 21; and Tevin M. Springs, 20; all of Oak Ridge—were in the car, Higgins said.

The four were arrested after the alleged robbery last year and charged with aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy.

They were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 5. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, armed robbery, Ben Higgins, Christopher D. Ramsey, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, criminal conspiracy, driving under the influence, indictment, Oak Ridge Police Department, Ray Steakley, Raymond R. Gray, robbery, Tevin M. Springs, Whitney T. Stewart

Four charged with aggravated robbery in alleged plot to steal rent money

Posted at 10:53 am April 2, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 2 Comments

Raymond R. Gray

Raymond R. Gray

Four young Oak Ridge adults have been charged with aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy in an alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money, authorities said.

The alleged armed robbery occurred on Highland Avenue at about midnight April 1, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The victim said three men who had their faces covered had robbed her at gunpoint and fled in a black Chevy sedan, the warrants said. The victim followed them north on Highland Avenue. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Ben Higgins, Christopher D. Ramsey, criminal conspiracy, Highland Avenue, Oak Ridge Police Department, Ray Steakley, Raymond R. Gray, robbery, Tevin M. Springs, Whitney T. Stewart

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