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For members: Three plead guilty, one sentenced to 10 years in drug conspiracy after overdose death

Posted at 7:16 pm July 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

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!

Filed Under: Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, United States Tagged With: Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Related Death Task Force, fentanyl, heroin, Jaleen G. Allen, Katarina S. Carinci, Knox County Regional Forensics Center, Knoxville Police Department, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, Samuel Hammond, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Thomas Varlan, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court

Drug Take Back Day is Saturday

Posted at 10:12 am April 24, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ASAP of Anderson and police departments in Anderson County have formed a partnership to take back expired or unused medicines on Saturday.

It’s part of the 2019 Drug Enforcement Administration Rx Drug Take Back Day.

“Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday,” a press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Community, Front Page News, Nonprofits, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Police and Fire, Rocky Top Tagged With: ASAP of Anderson, Clinton Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Take Back Day, National Rx Drug Take Back Day, Norris Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, prescription drugs, prescription medications, Rocky Top Police Department, unused medicine

Updated: No impact on local investigations, but FBI agents working without pay

Posted at 11:14 pm January 23, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 24.

Local law enforcement officers haven’t noticed an impact on investigations or criminal proceedings from the partial shutdown of the federal government, but agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has helped investigate crimes in Oak Ridge, are working without pay.

The shutdown is in its 33rd day, and it is the longest ever. It began Saturday, December 22, and it affects about 25 percent of the U.S. government, including the departments of Homeland Security and Justice, among other federal agencies. The shutdown hinges on a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress over whether to spend $5.7 billion to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

On Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said it has not observed any impact from the partial government shutdown, and the ORPD continues to work with its federal partners. Besides the FBI, the ORPD also works with, for example, the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said he is not aware of any impact at this time, including on investigations or criminal proceedings. Clark said he just met with the Anderson County sheriff and the county’s police chiefs on Tuesday, and “there was no mention of anyone experiencing issues.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, criminal proceedings, Dave Clark, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal government, investigations, law enforcement, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, partial government shutdown, partial shutdown, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General

Shutdown: DOJ workers in public safety, national security will remain on job; others could be furloughed

Posted at 2:31 pm December 22, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The partial government shutdown that started at midnight affects nine federal departments and several agencies. They include the U.S. Department of Justice, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. attorney’s offices.

During the partial shutdown, some employees who are considered excepted for reasons that include national security and public safety might continue working, but without being paid until the shutdown is over, while others will be furloughed.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that FBI agents will continue working, but they will work without pay, at least for now.

The U.S. Department of Energy, which has major operations in Oak Ridge, is not affected by the shutdown, while the National Park Service, which also has operations here, is. The Park Service is part of the U.S. Department of Interior, which is one of the departments that has had a lapse in funding due to a lack of agreement between Congress and President Donald Trump over whether to include $5 billion for a wall along the Mexican border in spending legislation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government Tagged With: Drug Enforcement Administration, Eastern District of Tennessee, Federal Bureau of Investigation, national security, partial government shutdown, public safety, Sharry Dedman-Beard, shutdown, U.S. Attorneys Offices, U.S. Attorneys' Office

Presentation on opioid drug epidemic Wednesday evening at RMS

Posted at 8:56 am November 29, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Chasing the Dragon Flyer Nov 29 2017

There will be a presentation on the opioid drug epidemic this evening at Robertsville Middle School.

The presentation is hosted by the offices of Safe Schools and Coordinated School Health. They are inviting the Oak Ridge community and friends of Oak Ridge Schools to the presentation, which is this evening (Wednesday, November 29) in the Robertsville Middle School Auditorium.

The evening will include a screening of the film “Chasing the Dragon,” a press release said. Following the film, the group will engage in a panel discussion with former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Neil Morgenstern as well as representatives from Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Ridgeview Behavioral Health, and ASAP of Anderson County.

The doors will open at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday to provide those who attend an opportunity to visit with area mental health, drug prevention, treatment, and recovery agencies. The program will start promptly at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Education, Health, K-12, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: ASAP of Anderson County, Chasing the Dragon, Coordinated School Health, Drug Enforcement Administration, Neil Morgenstern, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, opioid drug epidemic, Ridgeview Behavioral Health, Robertsville Middle School, Safe Schools

Lunch with the League features police chief on Tuesday

Posted at 10:19 pm September 18, 2017
By Ruby Miller Leave a Comment

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will host Lunch with the League on Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The speaker will be Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi.

The public is invited, and there is no cost to attend.

The lunch, which will last until about 1 p.m. Tuesday, will be in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Akagi will talk about current issues in the City of Oak Ridge and surrounding areas that are affecting police activities—including opioid usage, immigration, and school safety, a press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Jim Akagi, League of Women Voters, Lunch with the League, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge League of Women Voters, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, police chief

Oak Ridge police seize more than 70 pounds of marijuana

Posted at 5:29 pm December 11, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 2 Comments

Nicholas Ryan Salpas

Nicholas Ryan Salpas

With help from other agencies, the Oak Ridge Police Department seized more than 70 pounds of marijuana on Wednesday, authorities said.

Police searched a home on Carlisle Lane in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, December 9, with help from the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

They seized more than 70 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags, as well as one vacuum-sealed bag of suspected concentrated THC resin, a press release said.

Nicholas Salpas, 30, the resident and sole occupant of the home at 102 Carlisle Lane, was arrested at the scene, the release said. He was charged with three counts of manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, with an enhancement for this activity occurring within a drug-free school zone; possession of drug paraphernalia; theft of property; and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Carlisle Lane, controlled substance, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug paraphernalia, drug proceeds, marijuana, Missouri State Highway Patrol, narcotics, Nicholas Salpas, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force

Roane Sheriff part of investigation that leads to long sentence for pill mill operator

Posted at 11:54 pm August 30, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

A Chattanooga pill mill operator was sentenced to 280 years in federal prison on Thursday, and the Roane County Sheriff’s Office was among the law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigation that led to her indictment and subsequent conviction, authorities said.

Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 61, of Rossville, Georgia, was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Judge, said United States Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee.

After a 25-day trial that spanned almost three months, Lang was convicted of two counts of conspiring to distribute and dispense Schedule II and IV controlled substances, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose; five counts of maintaining a premises for the purpose of distributing controlled substances; and 14 counts of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, a press release said.

Lang was charged along with three other people. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Aunt Bea, Barbara Lang, Charles Larmore, Chattanooga Police Department, Curtis L. Collier, Daniel R. Salter, DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Eastern District of Tennessee, Elite Care, Faith Blake, Gregg L. Sullivan, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Jerome Sherard, Michael D. Porter, opioid pain medication, pain clinic, pill mill, pill mill operator, prescription drugs, primary care, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Rockwood Police Department, Sherard Clinic, Superior One, Superior One Medical Clinic, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tracy Stone, U.S. District Court, U.S. District Judge, United States Attorney, William C. Killian

U.S. attorneys, law enforcement target heroin, opioid trafficking, overdoses

Posted at 8:42 pm August 26, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Bill Killian

William C. “Bill” Killian

DETROIT—U.S. attorneys and leaders of federal law enforcement agencies from across six states met in Detroit on August 26, 2015, to share strategies to combat the heroin and prescription pill epidemic across the region.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee was among those who attended.

The summit was called in response to the national epidemic of heroin and prescription pill abuse that has hit Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, particularly hard. Heroin overdose deaths in the United States have tripled from 2010 to 2013. Nationally, the number of deaths from all drug overdoses exceeded 43,000 last year, more deaths than from traffic accidents. Heroin use in the United States has doubled from 2007 to 2012.

In the Midwest, opioid deaths have increased 62 percent. The summit seeks to target this national and regional problem by dismantling drug trafficking organizations that distribute heroin and prescription pills and by increasing prevention and educational efforts. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Police and Fire, U.S. Tagged With: ATF, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Daniel Salter, DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug overdoses, Eastern District of Tennessee, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, heroin, heroin overdose, Heroin Task Force, HIDTA, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, IRS-CI, Kentucky, law enforcement, Michigan, OCDETF, Ohio, opioid deaths, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Pennsylvania, prescription pill, prescription pill epidemic, Tennessee, U.S. attorneys, U.S. Attorneys Offices, West Virginia, William C. Killian

Roane sheriff plays role in indictment, conviction of Chattanooga pain clinic owner

Posted at 10:15 pm January 28, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Jack Stockton

Jack Stockton

The Roane County Sheriff’s Department was one of several law enforcement agencies that took part in an investigation that led to the indictment and conviction of the owner of two pain clinics, or “pill mills,” in Chattanooga, authorities said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were also involved in the investigation that led to the convictions of four people, including Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 60, of Rossville, Georgia, who owned and operated Superior One Pain Clinic and Primary Care Pain Clinic in Chattanooga, federal officials said.

Lang was convicted of drug trafficking and financial crimes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Aunt Bea, Barbara Lang, Charles Larmore, Chattanooga Police Department, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug trafficking, Elite Care, Faith Blake, financial crimes, Gregg L. Sullivan, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Jack Stockton, Jerome Sherard, medication, Michael D. Porter, narcotics, opioids, oxycodone, pain clinic, pill mill, pills, Primary Care Pain Clinic, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Rockwood Police Department, Sherard Clinic, Superior One Pain Clinic, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tracy Stone, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court, Xanax

Saturday: Household hazardous waste drop-off, prescription drug take-back

Posted at 11:08 am September 27, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

There is a prescription drug take-back in Oak Ridge through 2 p.m. today (Saturday, September 27). There is also a collection of household hazardous waste, and it also ends at 2 p.m.

The prescription drug take-back is at the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The ORPD is doing this in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration Prescription Drug Take-Back Day and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) of Anderson County.

“The Oak Ridge Police Department will give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs,” a press release said. “The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Health, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, ASAP, Bob Martineau, Brandan Sharp, Clinton Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Geoff Trabalka, hazardous waste, household hazardous waste, household waste, medications, Norris Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Public Works Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, ORPD, prescription drug, prescription drug take-back, Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Rocky Top Police Department, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Forty-two arrests in meth-making conspiracy in Anderson, Campbell

Posted at 6:28 pm July 24, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Forty-two people have been arrested in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine using pseudoephedrine in Anderson and Campbell counties, and another 17 have been indicted, authorities said.

The arrests and indictments of the 59 people on July 16 followed an investigation by more than a dozen agencies. The investigation found that those involved were buying pseudoephedrine at local pharmacies and using it to manufacture methamphetamine at various places in the two counties, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a Thursday press release.

Those indicted include: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: 7th Judicial District Attorney General; 8th Judicial District Attorney General, 7th Judicial Drug Task Force, 8th Judicial Drug Task Force, Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, C. Clifford Shirley, Campbell County, Campbell County Sheriff's Office, Caryn L. Hebets, Drug Enforcement Administration, LaFollette Police Department, Lake City Police Department, meth conspiracy, methamphetamine, Oak Ridge Police Department, pseudoephedrine, TBI, Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Tennessee Methamphetamine and Pharmaceutical Task Force, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. Marshals Service

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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