driving on a suspended license Archives

Woman sentenced to eight years after drugs discarded during police chase

Posted at 1:09 pm September 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

A Knoxville woman who fled from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in a car in Anderson County last year as methamphetamine and heroin were discarded from the moving vehicle pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday.

About 60 grams of methamphetamine and less than a gram of heroin were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during the police chase, which started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, 2017, according to court proceedings and affidavits.

The plea agreement hearing for the driver of the 1992 Honda Accord, Clarissa Sharee Tindell, 25, was Tuesday in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Her plea was by information, meaning she entered a plea before she was formally charged in an indictment by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Early pleas can lead to agreements more favorable to defendants.

Tindell, who was represented by defense attorney Paul Sexton of Oak Ridge, had been charged earlier in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton in a case that included additional counts such as aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony, speeding (117 mph in a 45 mph zone), and failure to yield the right of way, among other charges. Those charges were waived to the Grand Jury on June 6. [Read more…]

Carjacking suspect arrested after hospital release

Posted at 10:05 pm June 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bradley Allen Thomas

Note: This story was updated at 10:30 p.m.

The suspect in the carjacking of a van occupied by a woman in a wheelchair on Saturday, followed by a police chase and crash, was arrested after he was released from a hospital on Thursday, authorities said.

Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, was arrested by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies when he was released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. Thomas, who was seriously injured, had been taken to UT Medical Center after the Saturday afternoon crash at Clinton Highway and Powell Drive in Knox County.

Thomas is the suspect charged in the carjacking in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon, Lucas said.

“Oak Ridge Police officers served their warrants related to the carjacking, and Thomas was also served with warrants on the pursuit by deputies,” Lucas said after Thursday’s arrest. [Read more…]

More charges pending after carjacking, chase, crash

Posted at 5:59 pm June 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The driver of a vehicle allegedly stolen from a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 23, 2018, fled from law enforcement officers, running red lights and passing vehicles in the turn lane at high speed, before crashing into a car and a traffic light pole on Clinton Highway at Powell Drive in Knox County, an incident report said. (Submitted photo)

More charges are pending after a carjacking of a van occupied by a woman in a wheelchair in Oak Ridge on Saturday led to a police chase and crash on Clinton Highway in Knox County.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has already said it would seek warrants against the suspect, Bradley Allan Thomas, 30, of Knoxville, and the Oak Ridge Police Department said criminal charges are pending.

Now, in a preliminary crash report, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said it is filing its own charges. They include reckless endangerment, reckless driving, obedience to traffic control signal, failure to maintain lane, improper passing, and driving on a suspended license.

“These are all THP charges and do not include outside agencies’ pending charges,” the crash report said.

An Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report said deputies would seek warrants against Thomas for evading arrest and reckless endangerment. [Read more…]

Meth, heroin thrown out car window, patrol cars hit, THP says

Posted at 9:34 pm September 17, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Sixty-three grams of methamphetamine were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during a police chase that started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, authorities said. The vehicle occupants also threw out about one-half gram of heroin, and the car they were in almost hit two Anderson County patrol vehicles head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

That afternoon, THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd tried to stop a black Honda sedan for failure to yield the right of way and a turn signal violation at the intersection of State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) and Longmire Road in Clinton, near the Clinch River and Anderson County Detention Facility, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The 1992 Honda Accord had cut off a red pickup truck at the intersection, Lloyd said.

But the car refused to stop after he activated his emergency equipment, Lloyd said.

While the Honda was traveling down Longmire Road, the car occupants threw two items out the window, according to Lloyd:

a baby formula can that contained a jar with about 63.93 grams of methamphetamine, and
a black metal box that contained a set of scales, 0.53 grams of heroin, and multiple plastic bags.

[Read more…]

Carjacking, attempted robbery, assault charges sent to grand jury

Posted at 2:46 am August 24, 2017
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Sheila K. Jones

Attempted robbery, carjacking, and aggravated assault charges against an Oliver Springs woman were sent to a grand jury for its consideration after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Charges against Sheila K. Jones, 43, of Henley Circle, also include evading arrest, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and driving on a revoked license.

Jones had allegedly been a passenger in a vehicle in May when she allegedly climbed on top of the driver, Deborah G. Russell of Oliver Springs, who had said she was going home. Jones allegedly pressed Russell’s right leg down to the gas pedal and grabbed the steering wheel to prevent Russell from turning near the intersection of Tulsa Road and South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court on May 11.

“The victim (Russell) indicated that the defendant (Jones) started saying things such as ‘I’ll beat your ass’ and ‘I’ll blow your brains out,” the affidavits said. “After the defendant put the vehicle in park, the victim released her seatbelt, and the defendant opened and shoved the victim out of the driver’s door. The victim was still ‘hung’ in the seatbelt, until it finally came off, and the defendant shouted, ‘You made me do this!'”

At that point, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Cory Strange saw the vehicle—an older model gold vehicle that had been stopped next to an apparent pedestrian—spin its rear tires and make a hasty illegal U-turn in the middle of ORAU Way, according to the affidavits. [Read more…]

Two arrested after alleged dirt bike theft, police car hit, authorities say

Posted at 2:42 pm September 1, 2015
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Charles Ray Eller

Two men who admitted stealing a trailer and dirt bikes early Monday morning have been charged with theft and evading arrest, and the driver of the fleeing pickup truck has been charged with aggravated assault after trying to strike one Oak Ridge Police Department vehicle and backing up and hitting another, authorities said.

Police officers received the report of the trailer and dirt bike theft at about 2:45 a.m. Monday, August 31, at 208 South Illinois Avenue, an area near two hotels. The trailer and dirt bike were estimated to have a value of at least $10,000.

In arrest warrants, ORPD Officer Kyle Scott said he saw Charles R. Eller, 27, who is listed as a transient, and Joshua R. Hannifin, 29, of Oak Ridge, at that location, near a trailer that matched the given description. The trailer was attached to a black Ford F150 pickup truck, Scott said.

When Eller and Hannifin saw him, the officer said, they quickly got into the truck and fled. Scott said he chased them with his lights and sirens on. [Read more…]

Man accused of fleeing from police, driving toward three parked officers

Posted at 12:25 am June 28, 2013
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Laphonso R. Porter

An Oak Ridge man is accused of fleeing from police on Wednesday night, driving toward three officers parked in Scarboro, wrecking a car, and running on foot before being arrested.

Laphonso R. Porter, 23, remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Thursday night. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of evading arrest, driving on a suspended license, and reckless endangerment, according to arrest warrants. [Read more…]