Oak Ridge Today





Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A Secret City Academy student was charged with terrorism and other crimes after allegedly threatening to shoot people and use a bomb at the school on Friday, Anderson County’s district attorney general said. This is the fourth student charged with similar crimes in three incidents this school year.

Seventh Judicial District DA Dave Clark said the alleged oral threat by the juvenile briefly caused restrictions on movements within the school. The Secret City Academy is on the Oak Ridge High School campus.

“Nobody was hurt, and no firearm or explosive device was involved,” Clark said in a press release.

The alleged threats were investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, Anderson County Juvenile Court, and the DA’s office.

[Read more…]

Former AC school employees charged with theft

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Two former Anderson County Schools employees have been charged with stealing more than $10,000 in a two-year period between January 2018 and January 2020.

Heather Dawn Heatherly, 44, of Jacksboro, and Stephanie Leann Jenkins, 43, of Powell, were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on a single felony count of theft or more than $10,000 but less than $60,000 on February 1.

“The investigation was initiated by a complaint from a merchant that was concerned about the types of purchases being made with a government account,” said Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general in Anderson County. “The Anderson County Schools promptly reported the matter to the Sheriff’s Department and suspended the employees.”

The lengthy investigation that followed included the ACSO, Anderson County Schools, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, and the District Attorney General’s Office.

[Read more…]

Passenger dies after THP pursuit

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The passenger has died after a two-vehicle crash during a police pursuit in Anderson County on Sunday, January 30.

It’s the second death after the police chase and fatal crash near the intersection of Mountain Road and Highway 441 at about 2 p.m. that Sunday. The driver, Elijah Morley of Dandridge, died after the crash.

On Wednesday, Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general, said Morley’s passenger, Dustin Dienst of Morristown, died Tuesday night. He had been hospitalized since the crash.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper, Austin Dean, was also injured in the crash. Clark said earlier that Dean was treated and released from a hospital.

[Read more…]

Woman charged with murder in husband’s death after 7 years

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Samantha Hendley

The wife of Thomas Steven “T.S.” Thrasher has been charged with first-degree murder after his death in 2014, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Samantha Anne Hendley, 35, of Harriman, was indicted last week by the Anderson County Grand Jury, and she was arrested and booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Monday morning, the TBI said. Her bond has been set at $1 million.

The indictment and arrest followed seven years of casework by TBI special agents, the agency said.

Thrasher, 29, was shot and killed inside his home at Rolling Hills Apartments on December 8, 2014.

[Read more…]

Driver identified in fatal AC crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The driver who died has been identified after a police pursuit and fatal crash in Anderson County on Sunday.

The identity of the driver and two other people injured in the two-vehicle crash were initially withheld after the crash at Mountain Road and Highway 441 at about 2 p.m. Sunday.

On Saturday, Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County, said the medical examiner had completed the identification of the driver who died and notified family members.

The driver has been identified as Elijah Morley of Dandridge and the passenger who was injured in that vehicle was identified as Dustin Dienst of Morristown, Clark said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper who was injured in the crash was Austin Dean, Clark said.

[Read more…]

One dies, trooper injured after AC crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A driver died and a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper was injured after a crash in Anderson County on Sunday.

The THP was pursuing a vehicle with two people inside at about 2 p.m. Sunday, according to Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County.

The pursuit continued along several roads before the vehicle being chased and the THP cruiser left the roadway and crashed near the intersection of Mountain Road and Highway 441, Clark said.

The driver of the vehicle being chased died, and a passenger in that vehicle was injured and was taken to a hospital, Clark said. The trooper was also injured and was treated and released from a hospital, Clark said.

[Read more…]

Two face death penalty in murder, kidnapping, rape case

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

An Oak Ridge man and woman face the death penalty after allegedly kidnapping, raping, torturing, and murdering a 36-year-old woman, and mutilating her body and putting it into a freezer in December 2019.

Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general, announced the death penalty decision on Monday.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that a decision was expected this month in the criminal case against Sean Shannon Finnegan, 54, and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, 23. They have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the strangling death of Jennifer Gail Paxton and 10 other charges, including aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

In a press release, Clark said a district attorney general can seek the death penalty only in certain first-degree murder cases “when one or more factors established by state law are alleged to exist.” Then, it is up to the DA to decide whether to ask the court to impose the death penalty. That decision has now been made, Clark said.

Here are the factors in this case that make the death penalty applicable, according to Clark:

  • The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel “in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond what was necessary to produce death.”
  • It was committed to avoid being arrested and prosecuted for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape.
  • It was committed during an aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape.
  • Finnegan and Dishman mutilated Paxton’s body after she died.

Since the state is now seeking the death penalty, special procedures will apply in the court case. These include the appointment of an attorney qualified in death-penalty cases and the right to a second attorney for Finnegan and Dishman.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today

P.O. Box 6064

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge in December 2019, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

 

An Oak Ridge man and woman face the death penalty after allegedly kidnapping, raping, torturing, and murdering a 36-year-old woman, and mutilating her body and putting it into a freezer in December 2019.

Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general, announced the death penalty decision on Monday.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that a decision was expected this month in the criminal case against Sean Shannon Finnegan, 54, and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, 23. They have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the strangling death of Jennifer Gail Paxton and 10 other charges, including aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

In a press release, Clark said a district attorney general can seek the death penalty only in certain first-degree murder cases “when one or more factors established by state law are alleged to exist.” Then, it is up to the DA to decide whether to ask the court to impose the death penalty. That decision has now been made, Clark said.

Here are the factors in this case that make the death penalty applicable, according to Clark:

  • The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel “in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond what was necessary to produce death.”
  • It was committed to avoid being arrested and prosecuted for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape.
  • It was committed during an aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape.
  • Finnegan and Dishman mutilated Paxton’s body after she died.

Since the state is now seeking the death penalty, special procedures will apply in the court case. These include the appointment of an attorney qualified in death-penalty cases and the right to a second attorney for Finnegan and Dishman.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today

P.O. Box 6064

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Students who posted shooting threats charged with terrorism, mass violence threats

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department has charged three students with terrorism and threats of mass violence after they allegedly made school shooting threats in two separate incidents on social media on Monday and Tuesday.

The charges were filed in Anderson County Juvenile Court on Wednesday afternoon, and the court authorized the detention of the children in the Richard L. Bean Detention Facility in Knox County. The children were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said.

All three juveniles were charged with terrorism, threat of mass violence on school property, and false report. Two of the children were allegedly involved in a shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday, and they were also charged with conspiracy. That threat led to a lockdown at Oak Ridge High School on Monday. The third child was allegedly involved in a separate shooting threat that was posted on Snapchat on Tuesday, and that student will face the first three charges.

Clark said the children are required to have a detention hearing quickly under Tennessee law, and that hearing could occur as soon as Thursday afternoon in Anderson County Juvenile Court.

[Read more…]

Pelizzari joins DA’s office

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Attorney and prosecutor Brandon Pelizzari, left, is pictured with Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. (Submitted photo)

Attorney and prosecutor Brandon Pelizzari will join the Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office in Clinton on December 1. He will be an assistant district attorney general.

“Brandon is an experienced attorney and prosecutor,” District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release. “I am thrilled to add his experience and talent to the office.”

Pelizzari joins the Clinton office after having been a prosecutor of driving under the influence violations in the Eighth Judicial District, mostly assigned to Campbell County, for the past several years, the press release said.

“In addition to his professional skill, Brandon brings familiarity with our community,” Clark said. “As a native Anderson Countian who lives in our community, he will literally be coming home.”

[Read more…]

Two men charged with abuse of corpse

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Sexual harassment lawsuit against county appealed to Sixth Circuit

Posted at
By Leave a Comment


The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

  A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable. Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County. Now that’s on hold. The former employee, Gail Harness, has appealed her $7.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Anderson County to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!


The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

  A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable. Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County. Now that’s on hold. The former employee, Gail Harness, has appealed her $7.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Anderson County to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Statutory rape, misconduct charges dismissed against former officer after probation

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

 

Charges against Cassen Jackson-Garrison, standing at right, a former Oak Ridge Police Department police officer, were dismissed this year after two years of supervised probation. Jackson-Garrison had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017. His attorney, Greg Isaacs, standing next to Jackson-Garrison, said Jackson-Garrison had accepted responsibility for the allegations, and he compared his client’s childhood story to the one portrayed in the movie “The Blind Side.” The probation was a judicial diversion, allowing the felony charges to be dismissed if Jackson-Garrison complied with the terms and conditions. Jackson-Garrison and Isaacs are pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 12, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

After a two-year probation, charges were dismissed this year against a former Oak Ridge Police Department officer who had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017.

His attorney successfully asked for judicial diversion for Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 36, more than three years ago, although the state opposed it. The judicial diversion gave Jackson-Garrison, a former star football player, the opportunity to have the felony charges dismissed and expunged, or removed from his record, at the end of his probationary period. But he had to comply with the terms and conditions. The two-year probation ended in December 2019.

The charges were dismissed in January 2021, after Jackson-Garrison completed the terms of his diversion sentence.

The plea agreement has been previously reported, but the dismissal of the charges has not been. The charges appear to have now been expunged from Jackson-Garrison’s record, at least the portion that is publicly available.

Jackson-Garrison surrendered his P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) certification for police officers as part of his plea agreement, but he will not be placed on the sex offender registry.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today