Oak Ridge Today

AC public works director not guilty on all five counts

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David Crowley

David Crowley

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5:50 p.m.

CLINTON—Anderson County Public Works Director David Crowley has been found not guilty on charges that he conducted building inspections without proper certifications.

A seven-man, five-woman jury found Crowley not guilty on all five counts after deliberating for about one hour and 45 minutes Thursday.

Crowley had been accused of violating the state’s building official certification law.

With the acquittals on Thursday, he can seek to have the charges expunged from his record, Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court Judge Don Elledge said.

A few key questions raised in the trial had been whether five building inspections conducted by Crowley between October and December 2013, when he was not certified by the state, were within a 12-month grace period and whether they posed a danger to life, safety, health, and welfare. The question of when the grace period started depended upon whether Crowley’s interim hiring in September 2012 should be considered the starting point, or whether it should be his permanent appointment in November 2012 or his first inspection in February 2013.

The trial started Wednesday morning in Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court, and it ended Thursday afternoon. [Read more…]

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…]

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…]

Frank, White re-elected; incumbents fare well, but some upsets

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Steve Mead at Early Voting

Anderson County Commissioner Steve Mead, one of the incumbents re-elected Thursday, campaigns during early voting at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Fred O’Hara Jr.)

 

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was last updated at 2:10 p.m. July 8.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank was elected to her first four-year term on Thursday, and Sheriff Paul White was elected to a third term.

The election featured several close races, including for sheriff and register of deeds, and there were a few upsets, including for Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk, County Commission District 3, and General Sessions Judge, Division II, where longtime Judge Ron Murch suffered defeat.

Paul White

Paul White

In the race for the Tennessee House, Representative John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, beat back a primary challenge by newcomer Caitlin Nolan.

All 27 precincts have reported.

Here are the final unofficial election results for contested races:

Anderson County Mayor

  • Terry Frank, the Republican incumbent—7,586 (52.69 percent)
  • Jim Hackworth, a Democrat—6,193 (43.01 percent)
  • Bradley Rickett, an Independent—619 (4.3 percent)

Frank, who was first elected to a two-year term in a special election in August 2012, beat Hackworth, a former state representative and county commissioner, by about 1,400 votes. The two fought over a 1990 tax hike and “turmoil” and lawsuits in the Anderson County Courthouse.

Anderson County Sheriff

  • Paul White, the Democratic incumbent—7,386 (51.64 percent)
  • Anthony Lay, a Republican—6,918 (48.36 percent)

White’s margin of victory was just under 500 votes. Lay is a former sheriff in Scott County, and he is currently a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper. The two candidates battled over the food served at the Anderson County jail, crime rate statistics, and the responsiveness of the Sheriff’s Department, among other things. [Read more…]

Bullets for blanks negligent, but rounds not put into guns during police training, attorney says

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Oak Ridge Today

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge police lieutenant who sent deactivated .38-caliber pistol ammunition and live .223-caliber rifle rounds rather than blanks for use in a training session three years ago was negligent, an attorney said Thursday.

But the mistake was detected before the live rounds were put into guns, and there was no imminent danger or harm to anyone, said Benjamin K. Lauderback, who represented the City of Oak Ridge in oral arguments before the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville on Thursday.

The police officer who detected the error, former Oak Ridge Police Department Sgt. Mark Coffey, filed a formal complaint two days after the August 20, 2011, training session, known as an “active shooter” response. He resigned a few months later in October, and in August 2012, he filed a lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court alleging retaliation and wrongful discharge.

In the lawsuit, Coffey said other ORPD employees retaliated against him after he filed the complaint against Lt. Brad Jenkins, who supplied the ammunition. Coffey said he had been forced to resign and was “constructively discharged.” Before he left the job, Coffey said, he had been re-assigned to work under Jenkins, and he resigned because of the alleged retaliation and fears for his personal safety. He sought $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

The city won a summary judgement, which is like a dismissal, in August 2013. Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Don Elledge did not find that Coffey’s working conditions were bad enough that an ordinary person couldn’t tolerate them, Lauderback said. [Read more…]

DA moves to close business involved in alleged prostitution

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark last week moved to declare a new business a nuisance and close it down because of its alleged role in prostitution, a press release said.

The business is King Accupressure at 2683 Andersonville Highway in Anderson County.

The enforcement action was the result of an undercover investigation by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office that started almost immediately after King Accupressure opened, Clark said in the release. He said a deputy posed as a customer and alleged in a criminal complaint that he was solicited for prostitution.

Two women were taken into custody at the scene, Clark said. [Read more…]

Anderson County primary deadline Thursday at noon

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Information from WYSH Radio

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in any of the races on the ballot for Anderson County’s May 6 primaries is at noon Thursday.

Here is a look at who has qualified so far:

  • So far, only incumbent Judge Don Elledge has qualified to run for his seat as criminal and circuit judge.
  • Five people have qualified to run in the hotly-contested Juvenile Court judge primaries. Two Democrats—J. Michael Clement and David Dunkirk—are seeking the nomination, while three Republicans—Victoria Bannach, Lauren Biloski, and Brian Hunt—have qualified to seek their party’s nod to run for the seat in the August general election.
  • Brandon Fisher, the current Juvenile Court judge, had qualified to run for the Democratic nomination for chancellor, a seat coming open due to the retirement of William Lantrip, but he announced just a couple of weeks ago that he will be dropping out of the race to join a company in Pennsylvania. On the Republican side, Mike Farley and Phil Harber have qualified to appear on the May ballot. [Read more…]