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Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life

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Christy Viola Comer, left, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, listens to testimony during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

An Anderson County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of J.C. Copeland, an 83-year-old Rocky Top man, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus an extra 20 years.

Christy Viola Comer, 41, entered the guilty plea in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.

Comer had planned to rob Copeland, who was described as a “sweet old man,” because “it would be easy,” according to testimony during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton in January 2019.

Comer traded some of the property stolen from Copeland’s home, a digital video disc player, for a $10 bag of methamphetamine, according to court testimony by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent John Hannon.

Copeland’s body was found partially wrapped in a pink blanket underneath a porch at a mobile home on Jacksboro Avenue in Rocky Top on August 31, 2018, Hannon said. Copeland is believed to have been strangled until he died, according to court records. There was white rope around his neck and other parts of his body, including his wrists and ankles, Hannon testified during the preliminary hearing.

“In the overnight hours of August 30, 2018, Christy Comer made the decision to rob him (Copeland) to get money for methamphetamine,” Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release Tuesday.

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Teen allegedly killed mother after she took away phone

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Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

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Shawn Willis

 

An Anderson County teenager allegedly shot and killed his mother while she was sleeping after she punished him by taking away his cell phone, according to court records.

Shawn Tyler Willis, 18, of Rocky Top, has been charged with first-degree murder.

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For members: Man sentenced to 20 years for shooting that injured two

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Claxton-Shooting-Jan-13-2018

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigates a shooting at 3008 Clinton Highway, at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road in Claxton, on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, 2018. Two people were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man received a 20-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting that injured two people during an argument in a Clinton Highway home about two years ago.

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For members: Man sentenced to 14 years after taking van from woman in wheelchair

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Bradley Allan Thomas

 

A Knoxville man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday after he stole a van from a woman in a wheelchair in the parking lot of the Red Lobster restaurant in Oak Ridge last year. Authorities had alleged that the man pushed the woman out and took the van through force or intimidation while using a deadly weapon (a large knife).

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Rocky Top woman charged with three counts of first-degree murder

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The criminal homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, left, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Christy Viola Comer, 38, of Rocky Top, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of J.C. Copeland, an 83-year-old man, during an alleged robbery in August. Comer, left, is pictured above during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Rocky Top woman has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of an 83-year-old man during an alleged robbery in August.

Christy Viola Comer, 38, faces one count of first-degree murder for the premeditated and intentional killing of J.C. Copeland, according to an indictment filed by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton on March 5.

Comer faces two more charges of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Copeland while committing two other crimes, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, according to the indictment.

The five-count indictment also charged Comer with those two other crimes, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. Comer took Copeland’s property violently through the use of a deadly weapon, and she entered Copeland’s home without permission, intending to commit a felony, according to the indictment.

Comer has an arraignment scheduled for the five felony charges on March 29 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

(For members) Testimony: Defendant in homicide case had planned to rob man

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The homicide charge filed against Christy Viola Comer, 37, middle, was sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. At right is defense attorney Leslie Hunt. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—The defendant in a criminal homicide case in Rocky Top in August had planned to rob the 83-year-old man who died because “it would be easy,” according to court testimony Tuesday.

The body of the victim, J.C. Copeland, who has been described as a “sweet old man,” was found partially wrapped in a pink blanket underneath a porch at a mobile home on Jacksboro Avenue on August 31, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent John Hannon. Copeland is believed to have been strangled until he died, according to court records. There was white rope around Copeland’s neck and other parts of his body, including his wrists and ankles, Hannon testified during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on Tuesday.

Inside Copeland’s home, investigators found a fresh brown stain on the floor near his front door, white strings similar to the material found around his neck, and in one possible sign of a struggle, cigarettes on the floor, according to Hannon’s testimony. An acrylic painted press-on fingernail was found in the living room, Hannon said. It’s similar to the type of press-on fingernail that a woman might wear, Hannon said when questioned by prosecutor Emily Faye Abbott.

Outside the home, Copeland’s vehicle was missing.

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Jury finds Patty guilty of homicide in fatal car-motorcycle crash

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Pictured above at left during the trial for Noelle Patty, center, of Oak Ridge, in Anderson County Criminal Court on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, are defense attorneys Michael Ritter, left, and David Ege. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above at left during the trial for Noelle Patty, 41, center, of Oak Ridge, in Anderson County Criminal Court on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, are defense attorneys Michael Ritter, left, and David Ege. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:20 p.m.

CLINTON—An Anderson County jury on Wednesday found an Oak Ridge resident guilty of criminally negligent homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue more than two years ago.

The jury of 10 men and two women deliberated about three hours before reaching its unanimous verdict at the end of a two-day trial of Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

Patty was found not guilty of a second count, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, but the jury did find her guilty of what is known as a lesser included offense, a charge of reckless endangerment.

Patty was convicted of the two charges in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.

“They finally got my brother some justice,” said Linda Shephard, after family members had exchanged hugs and tears with prosecutors and police officers. [Read more…]

Updated: State won’t prosecute three misdemeanors in fatal car-motorcycle crash

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Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. July 25.

The state will not prosecute three misdemeanor charges that had been filed against an Oak Ridge woman after a fatal car-motorcycle crash more than two years ago, but prosecutors will proceed to trial on two felony charges: criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

The trial has been scheduled for Tuesday for Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Patty has been charged with homicide in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.

The court was notified of the state’s decision not to prosecute the three misdemeanor charges last week, and a judgement was filed Tuesday, July 17. The three misdemeanor charges are failure to yield the right of way resulting in death, failure to obey a traffic control device, and failure to provide evidence of insurance.

“The state has elected to go to trial only on the felony charges in Count 1 and 5,” said the state’s notice, filed last week by Seventh Judicial District Assistant District Attorney General Emily Faye Abbott. [Read more…]

Courts: Trial scheduled in fatal car-motorcycle crash

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Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

CLINTON—A trial has been scheduled this month for an Oak Ridge woman charged with homicide after a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016.

The felony jury trial for Noelle Leigh Patty, 41, is scheduled for July 24 in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. Patty has been charged with homicide in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge.

On Friday, Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge rejected a motion to dismiss two of the five charges filed against Patty: criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved. The Anderson County Grand Jury has found probable cause on the five charges, Elledge said, and no facts or evidence had been presented to the court yet. He called the motion to dismiss “totally premature.”

Patty was indicted on the five charges by the Anderson County Grand Jury on August 1, 2017. Besides homicide and reckless endangerment, the charges included failure to yield the right-of-way resulting in death, failure to obey a traffic control device, and failure to provide proof of insurance.

The crash occurred between a Cadillac STS car and Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle on Sunday evening, January 31, 2016, at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center. Authorities said Patty, who was driving the Cadillac, made an improper left turn from a right-turn-only lane at that exit, and she failed to yield to Shephard, who was riding the motorcycle north on North Illinois Avenue. Shephard died after he collided with the car, which was turning south in “the pathway of northbound traffic,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Luethge said in arrest warrants filed after the crash.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. The rest of the story includes information about the “undisputed facts,” results of alcohol and drug tests, and arguments for and against dismissing two of the five charges.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include coverage of court cases and in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Man pleads guilty to homicide in fatal crash

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Justin Lee Seeber

Justin Lee Seeber

 

An Anderson County man pleaded guilty on Monday to criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 19-year-old woman in a single-vehicle crash on US 25W in May 2013.

Justin Lee Seeber, 28, also pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton to reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

The crash on May 28, 2013, killed Amber Elaine Smith of Knoxville, a graduate of Hardin Valley Academy who attended Roane State Community College.

Seeber’s two-year sentence was suspended, and he was placed on state-supervised probation. As a standard offender, his release eligibility was set at 30 percent. If he successfully completes probation, he will not have to go to prison. But if he violates probation, he will have to serve prison time, authorities said. [Read more…]

Clinton man sentenced to 30 years in death of mother fleeing dispute

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Kieth William Pittman

Kieth William Pittman

 

CLINTON—A Clinton man was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday for the 2014 stabbing death of a mother trying to flee a domestic dispute.

Kieth William Pittman, 28, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder and a second charge of tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 25 years on the second-degree murder charge and five years on the tampering with evidence charge.

The sentences must be served consecutively, meaning Pittman has an effective 30-year sentence, Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge said during a plea agreement hearing in Clinton on Thursday.

The victim, Heather McKamey, 22, was a mother of three boys. She and Pittman had two of the boys together.

McKamey was stabbed outside her apartment at 301 Park Avenue in north Clinton after an argument between her and Pittman became physical at about 2:25 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2014, according to police reports and an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

“While both the victim (McKamey) and suspect (Pittman) were in the driveway, the suspect stabbed the victim in the stomach with the knife he had taken from the kitchen,” according to the affidavit, filed by Clinton Police Department Detective Sergeant Russell Barker. “Witnesses advised the victim fled down Park Avenue to McAdoo Street yelling for help, and the suspect chased her.” [Read more…]

Maine man pleads guilty to murder charge in OS drug deal that ended in death

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Scott-Benjamin-Pike-Nov 21-2014

Scott Benjamin Pike (November 2014 photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A 32-year-old Maine man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of an Oliver Springs man after a drug deal in May 2011.

Scott Benjamin Pike, of Lewiston, Maine, entered the guilty pleas in Anderson County Criminal Court on Friday, January 29.

Pike received a 20-year sentence on the second-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, and a 12-year sentence on the aggravated robbery charge, a Class B felony. There is no probation on either count, according to court records. The sentences will run concurrently. He will receive credit for time served.

Pike was indicted on a first-degree murder charge on February 7, 2012, by the Anderson County Grand Jury. Also indicted were Ronny Blake Hamrick of Oliver Springs and Tristin Jane Dayon of Lewiston, Maine. A first-degree murder charge could include a premeditated killing or an unlawful death that occurred during a robbery or attempted robbery, according to the indictments. [Read more…]

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