Oak Ridge Today

Man convicted of possessing heroin for sale in school zone

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Charles Randolph Johnson

Charles Randolph Johnson

A man who came to Anderson County from the Detroit area has been convicted of possessing heroin and marijuana for sale in a school zone, and he faces 25 to 40 years in prison, authorities said Wednesday.

Charles Randolph Johnson was found guilty on Friday, September 18, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release. The jury deliberated for 1.5 hours before announcing their verdict after a trial that lasted 1.5 days.

Johnson has a separate November 10 trial for actually selling the heroin, Clark said in the press release. The DA said Johnson has been charged separately for allegedly selling heroin three times on Coconut Lane near Claxton Elementary School. He also has charges pending for allegedly coercing a witness, Clark said.

The DA said the potential 25- to 40-year sentence for the Friday convictions is based on Johnson’s prior felony record and because the jury found that the crime occurred within a school zone. But the specifics of the sentence will be determined by Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge at the November 30 sentencing hearing, Clark said. [Read more…]

DA: Crime down 12 percent in Anderson County

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Crime dropped 12 percent in Anderson County and its cities in 2014, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Wednesday.

It’s the eighth year in a row that crime has dropped, according to statistics released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Clark said in a press release. He said crime is down 42 percent in the county and its cities during the past eight years.

During that same period, crime was down in Tennessee by an “impressive” 16 percent, Clark said.

“However, locally, we have more than doubled the crime reduction that has been accomplished across the state,” he said. [Read more…]

POST asks DAs, feds to investigate whether Akagi violated state, federal law

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Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Chief’s attorney calls it one more effort to vilify Akagi

The organization that certifies police officers in Tennessee has asked state and federal authorities to investigate whether Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

The April 27 letter from Ray Farris, assistant director of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, was sent to Mike Flynn, district attorney general in the Fifth Judicial District in Maryville; Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Clinton; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“Documents provided to our office indicate that an order of protection was issued by the Blount County Court against Chief Akagi on April 19, 2012,” Farris said in the letter. “During the effective period of this order of protection, Chief Akagi submitted his firearms qualifications scores to the Commission, which appears to be a violation of the aforementioned order of protection.”

But Tasha Blakney, an attorney for the police chief, has said Akagi was not prohibited from carrying a firearm.

“I am absolutely confident that there has been no violation of state or federal law in this family law matter with regard to the ex parte order of protection that was temporarily entered and subsequently dismissed,” Blakney said Thursday. “They simply don’t carry any implications for an individual’s Second Amendment rights. That’s just a function of understanding the way that Tennessee law works.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman convicted of abuse charge

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Note: This story was updated at 11:05 a.m. April 17.

Oak Ridge Today/WYSH Radio

An Oak Ridge woman will spend the next 15 to 25 years in a state penitentiary after an Anderson County jury needed less than 20 minutes Tuesday to convict her of aggravated child neglect following a trial in Anderson County Criminal Court.

Melissa Lopez, 37, was charged with failing or refusing to seek emergency medical care for her then-10-month-old son, who had suffered what the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office described as “horrible,” second-degree chemical or thermal burns to his skin and injuries to his eyes in November 2008.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services began an investigation after someone called and told them about the infant’s injuries, and DCS workers compelled Lopez to take the boy to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment of his skin burns, eyes, and management of his pain. [Read more…]

Former nurse indicted on false report charge in prisoner death

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Billy Joe Brockman

Billy Joe Brockman

A former nurse at the Anderson County Detention Facility has been charged with filing a false report in the death of a prisoner in July 2014, authorities said.

An autopsy revealed that the prisoner, Christopher C. Sullivan, died accidentally from a combination of alcohol and morphine, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release.

An indictment against the former nurse, Billy Joe Brockman, 49, of Clinton, “indicates that he unlawfully reported to Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators that he had measured and recorded the vital signs of Christopher C. Sullivan while knowing that he had, in fact, not measured or recorded the information,” Clark said. [Read more…]

DA: No suspect, no charge in alleged rape by officer or security guard

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:40 p.m.

The six-month investigation of an alleged rape by a security guard or police officer has been completed, and no suspect has been identified and there is no basis for a criminal charge, Anderson County’s top prosecutor said. Also, the credibility of the alleged victim is in doubt, District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a Tuesday letter to Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi.

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported the alleged rape in June. An adult female had reported that she was raped by a uniformed man who appeared to be a police officer or security guard, although it wasn’t clear if a specific agency was ever named. The woman reported that she was handcuffed and raped behind Oak Ridge Mall in the back seat of a police-type cruiser.

The woman was interviewed by Oak Ridge police officers, and the ORPD then contacted the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, which notified the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation of the allegation.

“Due to the nature of the allegation, Chief Akagi thought it would be best to have another agency conduct the investigation,” Clark said in a two-page investigative report.

The TBI investigation of the high-profile case is now complete. [Read more…]

DA: Criminal investigation under way in apartment death, but so far, no arrest, charges

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

A criminal investigation is under way in the death of a 29-year-old man at an apartment in Oak Ridge early Monday, but there has not been an arrest yet and no charges have been filed, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Thursday.

Thomas Steven Thrasher Jr., 29, was found dead in a second-floor apartment when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible intruder at about 4:40 a.m. Monday at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive.

Clark said an autopsy has been performed by the Anderson County medical examiner.

“As a result of the circumstances, the Oak Ridge Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been conducting a criminal investigation,” Clark said. “There has been no arrest or charges filed at this time.” [Read more…]

Frank questions indictment of appointee

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David Lynn Crowley

David Lynn Crowley

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has questions for District Attorney General Dave Clark concerning the indictment of Public Works Director and Building Commissioner David Crowley.

A letter hand-delivered from the mayor’s office to the DA’s office states that the five misdemeanor charges handed down against Crowley last week by a grand jury do not meet the legal standards for those charges.

Crowley, who was appointed by Mayor Frank in September of 2012, was charged last week with five counts of inspecting houses without the proper certification following a TBI investigation. He turned himself in at the Anderson County jail Thursday morning, posted a $1,000 bond, and returned to work that same day. [Read more…]

Honors: DA Clark named a governor of Tennessee Bar Association

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

District Attorney General Dave Clark has been named a governor of the Tennessee Bar Association. The 23-member board controls the activities and business of the Tennessee Bar Association in all its activities across the state.

The TBA represents more than 10,000 lawyers in Tennessee in trying to “foster legal education, maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of law, cultivate professional ethics, and promote improvements in the law and administration of justice,” a press release said.

“It is an honor to be selected to serve in a leadership role among my peers and to help continue the service of the Tennessee Bar Association,” Clark said in the release.

Clark, who represents the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County), was elected to a second eight-year term as DA in the August 7 county election.

DA: Crime rate in Anderson County drops seven consecutive years

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The crime rate in Anderson County has dropped for seven consecutive years, District Attorney General Dave Clark said.

Crime in Anderson County was down by 10.1 percent in 2013, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation numbers, Clark said in a recent press release. Crime in the county is down by more than 37 percent in the past seven years, he said.

“There are thousands of fewer crimes in Anderson County now, as compared to 2007,” Clark said.

“This is great news for the people of Anderson County because we are safer from crime and can enjoy the benefits of having a crime rate that is below average for the state,” Clark said. “This is also great news for recruiting good industry and retail jobs to Anderson County and a variety of other benefits. [Read more…]

Reported crimes down 45 percent in Anderson County

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tbi-total-reported-crimes-2007-2013

The overall number of reported crimes in Anderson County fell 45 percent from 2007 to 2013, with the most dramatic drop during the past two years—2012 and 2013, Sheriff Paul White said in a recent press release.

Crimes against people have decreased 56.3 percent since 2007, crimes against society have fallen 42.5 percent, and crimes against property have dropped 41.1 percent, White said.

The most prevalent crimes in rural areas of the county are property crimes such as burglaries and thefts. Both have decreased significantly during the last two years, White said.

“This drop in overall crime can be directly attributed to proactive law enforcement and increased patrols of the rural areas of the county,” White said. “Added personnel in 2007 and 2008 have allowed directed patrols and enhanced investigations of property crimes. These efforts have resulted in more crimes solved and over 800 arrests for burglary and theft offenses since 2007.” [Read more…]