Oak Ridge Today

Warrants: Police find drug paraphernalia, suspected meth in Vermont Ave search

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Joel Donovan Packard

Joel Donovan Packard

Police found suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia during a search of a home on Vermont Avenue early Friday morning, authorities said.

Two people were arrested on drug charges after the search, and two were arrested on outstanding warrants.

Warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton said a search of the home at 306 Vermont Avenue found suspected methamphetamine, a blister pack containing four suspected pseudoephedrines, three suspected clonazepam, a snort straw, spoons with residue, black digital scales with residue, pipes, clear plastic baggies with residue, and an unknown white residue.

The two people arrested on drug violations, Joel Donovan Packard, 23, and Tiffany Lea Packard, 42, live at the Vermont Avenue home. Both remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.

Both Packards have been charged with manufacturing, delivering, or selling Schedule II drugs; manufacturing, delivering, or selling Schedule IV drugs; maintaining a dwelling for manufacturing, selling, or delivering narcotics; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The search was conducted at about 6:45 a.m. Friday, February 24, by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County and the Oak Ridge Police Department.

Authorities have previously said that two other people, Jackson McGhee, 41, and James Brown, 27, were arrested after the Friday morning search on outstanding warrants in a related case. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police seize more than 70 pounds of marijuana

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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…]

Two arrested for alleged narcotics, weapons possession

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Christopher Cody Samuelson

Christopher Cody Samuelson

Two men who allegedly possessed illegal drugs and firearms were arrested at an Oak Ridge motel on Friday morning, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated possible drug activity around Days Inn on South Illinois Avenue at about 10:11 a.m. Friday, June 5, a press release said. Several officers responded, and when they arrived, they detained Christopher Samuelson and Anthony Gallaher, both 30-year-old Oak Ridge residents.

The search of a hotel room resulted in the seizures of suspected methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a handgun, and currency believed to be derived from the sales of narcotics, the press release said. Another pistol was allegedly recovered from a vehicle linked to both men that was parked near the room. Officers also conducted a parole search of a residence in Oak Ridge and recovered additional narcotics, the release said. [Read more…]

Five arrested after shots fired into Claxton home, marijuana found

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Kevin Scott Garner

Kevin Scott Garner

Five people were arrested early Sunday morning after deputies responded to a report of shots fired into an occupied home in Claxton, authorities said. They said deputies were helped by a series of anonymous 911 calls from a Powell man who was found with the Knoxville man alleged to have been the shooter.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said dispatchers began receiving anonymous 911 calls from a cell phone around 5 a.m. Sunday, reporting a shooting into a residence at 120 East Circle. However, the calls were not coming from the actual residence. Some 30 calls were made over the next several minutes, White said.

Deputies responded to the East Circle home and, when they arrived, spoke with a person on the front porch who initially gave a false name and false information about what happened. Another person was found hiding in the back yard. A third person was inside the residence.

Bullet holes were found in the front of the house. No one was injured. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Arrest made after indoor marijuana grow, other drugs found

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Nathan Allen Underwood

Nathan Allen Underwood

A Rocky Top man was arrested Tuesday when officers serving a search warrant found marijuana plants in various stages of a grow operation, along with indoor grow equipment such as lights, as well as other drug paraphernalia, authorities said. In addition, mushrooms and suspected prescription narcotics were also found, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

White said investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, along with officers from the Rocky Top Police Department, and the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, served a search warrant at a home on Industrial Park Road in Rocky Top on Tuesday afternoon. The search warrant was the result of a joint drug investigation with these agencies.

Authorities arrested Nathan Allen Underwood, 32, of Rocky Top, and he was charged with several drug and weapons offenses, White said. The charges include manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance; possession of Schedule I drugs; possession of Schedule II drugs; possession of drug paraphernalia; and unlawful possession of a weapon.

The sheriff said charges on two other people are expected, pending more investigation into the case.

Underwood remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Sunday afternoon, and his bond has been set at $35,000.

Four students found with drugs, hatchet, ski mask, ORPD says

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A 14-year-old male who refused to go to school on Wednesday possessed a tactical load bearing vest, and four students detained Thursday, including one adult student, were found near Oak Ridge High School in a car that contained drugs, a ski mask, and a hatchet, authorities said.

The news comes less than one day after the Oak Ridge Police Department announced it seized a stolen, loaded gun from the car of a student who had allegedly caused a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School and said a knife had been seized from a student during an altercation on a school bus.

In a Thursday morning press release, the ORPD said officers responded to a report of an unruly juvenile at a home on Baypath Drive at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“When officers arrived, they met with the mother and older sibling of a 14 year-old juvenile male who had refused to go to school,” the press release said. “Officers interviewed the juvenile and noted he was in possession of a tactical load bearing vest. Officers ultimately assisted in transporting the juvenile to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room for an evaluation, as well as coordinating with Juvenile Court authorities and referring the incident to DCS for follow-up. No criminal charges were filed. However, the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.” [Read more…]

Bullet holes found in door, teen confesses to shooting, police say

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Rayshawn Lee Freeman

Rayshawn Lee Freeman

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

An Oak Ridge teenager already in jail after a search of a Utica Circle home allegedly found narcotics and a semi-automatic pistol has confessed to a shooting at a home on Bethune Circle where residents reported multiple bullet holes in their front door early Thursday morning, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident began just before 3 a.m. Thursday when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a “shots fired” call in the Scarboro neighborhood. Police saturated the neighborhood with patrol units and interviewed potential witnesses, but no evidence of a shooting was found, the ORPD said in a press release. [Read more…]

Police allegedly find guns, drugs during search of Nevada Circle home

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Police searching a home on Nevada Circle on Wednesday night allegedly found a half-dozen guns, about 32 grams of what appeared to be marijuana, a small amount of purported crack cocaine, and a tablet identified as Roxicodone, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was armed with a search warrant that said all controlled substances found in the home were to be seized as evidence, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]