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New federal designation means more law enforcement funding, full-time ATF agent

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Anderson-County-High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area-Press-Conference-Dec-17-2019
A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.

As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.

“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”

[Read more…]

Warrants: Police find about three ounces of suspected meth

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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.

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Anderson County man arrested after search allegedly finds meth, heroin

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Steven Arthur Seiber
Steven Arthur Seiber

An Anderson County man has been charged with five drug-related crimes after a search of a home near Rocky Top in February found large amounts of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, and other drugs.

Steven Arthur Seiber, 30, has been charged with manufacturing, delivering, or selling a Schedule II controlled substance: 300 grams or more of methamphetamine. That’s a Class A felony in Tennessee.

Affidavits, which include short narratives describing alleged crimes, said the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County found about 18 bags (roughly 18 ounces) of suspected crystal methamphetamine in the master bedroom of a home on Andys Ridge Road during a search Wednesday night, February 13. (There are 28.35 grams per ounce.)

Agents also found about 21 bags (roughly 21 grams) of suspected heroin in the master bedroom, according to the affidavits, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by CTF Director Simon Byrne.

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CTF: Meth, narcotics found during Friday morning searches

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Roughly an ounce of methamphetamine and other narcotics were found during searches on Ridgeview Drive in Oliver Springs on Friday morning, May 31, 2019, law enforcement officers said. (Photo courtesy Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force)

Roughly an ounce of methamphetamine and other narcotics were found during Friday morning searches on Ridgeview Drive in Oliver Springs, law enforcement officers said.

The searches were led by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, which had three search warrants. The search operation included the CTF, Oliver Springs Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department, a press release said.

ACSO and ORPD SWAT executed two of the three search warrants at the same time, the press release said. The third search warrant was executed shortly after the first two were clear, the release said.

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CTF finds about 10 grams of suspected heroin in second search of home

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James William Donald

James William Donald

 

Law enforcement officers found about 10 grams of suspected heroin in their second search of a home on West Outer Drive in less than two years.

The defendant, James William Donald, 71, told Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force Agent Kenneth Woods that he would “take money from other individuals for the purchase of heroin as well as provide heroin to friends that would visit his residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge in December.

The home on West Outer Drive is within about 75 feet of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, according to the warrants.

The most recent search by the Crime Task Force occurred on Thursday, December 20. The CTF had a search warrant to seize all controlled substances, the warrants said. [Read more…]

First guilty plea in cocaine conspiracies leads to 10-year prison sentence

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Marvel Lynette Carpenter

Marvel Lynette Carpenter

 

The first defendant to plead guilty in one of two alleged conspiracies involving close to three dozen defendants and 300 grams or more of cocaine has received a 10-year prison sentence, according to court records.

Marvel Lynette Carpenter, 45, of Oak Ridge, pleaded guilty to 10 drug-related charges in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday, November 18.

Carpenter had been indicted May 3 in an alleged 24-person conspiracy. There was also an alleged 11-person conspiracy. A roundup of the cocaine conspiracy suspects started Thursday, May 5, as several law enforcement agencies swept through Oak Ridge and possibly other communities in what authorities described as a complex, multi-county criminal investigation. Authorities said parts of the investigation were unprecedented.

Carpenter had been charged with conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine—and conspiring to possess with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell 300 grams or more of cocaine. Those were Class A felony charges. [Read more…]

Twenty-four indicted in second cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more

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Edward Javard Mitchell

Edward Javard Mitchell

Note: This story was last updated at 10:08 p.m.

Twenty-four people, most of them Oak Ridge residents, have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in a second alleged cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more. That makes a total of 33 people who have been indicted in two separate conspiracies to allegedly manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine last year.

There are other charges that apply to some of the suspects as well.

The indictments allege that the two conspiracies, one involving 11 people and the other involving 24, both occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The indictments are being posted by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk following a drug suspect roundup that started Thursday and continued into Saturday in Oak Ridge. It’s not clear yet if other communities were involved, or if authorities have alleged additional conspiracies. Also, all the charges against all the defendants don’t appear to be posted yet.

Two of the defendants are named in both conspiracies.

Authorities have said little about the case so far. But they plan to release more information about what they have described as a complex, multi-county criminal investigation during a Monday afternoon press conference in the Clinton office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. Authorities have said parts of the investigation were unprecedented. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are expected to report on the investigation during the Monday afternoon press conference. [Read more…]

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