Oak Ridge Today

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

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Charles Ray Eller

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…]

Police: Man riding dirt bike reported as stolen drops it in front of patrol car, flees

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Seth Davis

Seth Davis

An Oak Ridge man riding a dirt bike reported to be stolen from Staples lost control of the motorcycle and dropped it in front of a police patrol car before fleeing Thursday evening, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby observed two dirt bikes on South Benedict Avenue at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday, and they were “riding wheelies at a high rate of speed,” according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

In the warrants, Officer Scott Carroll said the defendant, Seth Montez Davis, 19, rode toward him. When Davis saw him, Carroll said, “he locked up the brakes and slid into my lane of traffic.”

After Davis dropped the bike, he ran behind a home on South Benedict, Carroll said. The officer said he chased Davis through a field and back up to South Benedict, where he was caught. [Read more…]

Vehicles ram each other, shots fired before police arrest OS man

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David Ramsey Dunlap

David Ramsey Dunlap

A car and a truck rammed each other during a police chase on Wednesday night, and the driver of the sedan fired shots at the truck before he was arrested, authorities said.

It started after Oak Ridge Police Department officers responded to a disturbance at a home in the Hendrix Creek subdivision at about 10:53 p.m. Wednesday, April 29. Officers learned that a man, later identified as David Dunlap Jr., 44, of Oliver Springs, was at the home, armed with a handgun and threatening to harm others, an Oak Ridge press release said.

When officers responded, they learned that Dunlap was at a home in the Highland View neighborhood. Officers then redeployed to that residence, where they encountered two vehicles, a sedan and a truck, on Outer Drive near New York Avenue traveling at a high rate of speed, the press release said.

“As the vehicles approached the responding officers, Dunlap, who was driving the sedan, fired shots at the truck,” the release said. [Read more…]

Reports: Man drags constable while fleeing, crashes into deputy’s cruiser

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Larry Eugene Ward

Larry Eugene Ward

An Anderson County man suspected of fleeing a crash on Clinton Highway last week was found slumped over with blood on his face in a damaged car that reeked inside of alcohol, authorities said. The suspect, Larry Eugene Ward, fled from officers, and he dragged three emergency responders with him and almost ran over a constable’s legs before crashing into three other vehicles on Bull Run Road, including a deputy’s patrol car, authorities said.

The constable, Jennings F. Foust, 64, was dragged almost 50 feet before Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Robert J. Collins was able to pull him from the vehicle, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

While trying to flee, Ward crashed into three more vehicles, including Collins’ patrol car and Foust’s car, and hit or nearly hit an ambulance, authorities said.

Ward, 34, of Clinton, remained jailed Wednesday at the Anderson County Detention Facility on a slew of charges including aggravated assault, evading arrest, reckless driving, public intoxication, and driving under the influence. [Read more…]

Police arrest driver who resisted officer, hit steel post at Rocky Top

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Rocky Top Steel Pole Damage

Police have arrested the Knoxville man who resisted an officer at a Rocky Top convenience store early Tuesday morning before hitting this steel pole in the gas station’s parking lot.

 

Knox County and Oak Ridge officers have arrested the Knoxville man who resisted an officer before he accelerated toward a Rocky Top store and hit a steel pole in the gas station’s parking lot early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Sherrius Smith, 20, was arrested at an apartment on West Vista Ridge Way in Knoxville at about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday by members of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division and Oak Ridge Police Department Special Projects Unit, the ORPD said in a press release. He was transferred to the ORPD, which is taking him to the Anderson County Detention Center in Clinton, where he will face the following charges, a press release said:

  • two counts of aggravated assault,
  • possession of schedule VI controlled substances for resale, [Read more…]

Man flees from deputies in his underwear

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A Lake City man was in custody Wednesday after turning himself in after fleeing from deputies early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Justin Lee McIntosh, 21, surrendered to jail officers Tuesday evening and was arrested on several outstanding warrants, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said.

Earlier Tuesday morning, at about 3:30 a.m., patrol deputies went to his residence on Bolin Road near Lake City in an attempt to serve the arrest warrants. McIntosh broke out a side window of the home and fled from deputies—in his underwear, the Sheriff’s Department said. [Read more…]

Suspect in officer assault nabbed in OR

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Information from WYSH Radio

In February, WYSH Radio reported that a Rockwood police officer’s foot was run over by a suspect trying to elude arrest and that the suspect had not been apprehended. That changed on Thursday night when 26-year-old James Poland of Rockwood was arrested in Oak Ridge on charges stemming from the late-February incident.

Poland faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, and evading arrest, and at last check was being held in Anderson County for Roane County authorities. He is also facing three probation violation charges and two charges for driving on a revoked license. [Read more…]

Man facing charges in high-speed chase

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Powell man has been arrested on charges stemming from a high-speed nighttime pursuit that spanned two counties earlier this month.

Larry Eugene Ward Jr., 33, is facing a slew of charges including reckless endangerment, reckless driving, evading arrest, and a host of traffic violations. An Oliver Springs Police Department officer tried to pull Ward over at night on Nov. 2 for a routine violation, but Ward allegedly sped off in his Chevy Cruze, turned off the vehicle’s headlights, and proceeded to lead officers on a pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour, passing cars on double yellow lines, and taking hills in the wrong lane. [Read more…]

Report: With four children in car, chase exceeds 100 mph, mother urges driver to go faster

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Billy Ray Fox

Billy Ray Fox

Heather Renee Buchanan

Heather Renee Buchanan

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 24.

With four unrestrained children in the car, an East Tennessee man and woman fled from officers at speeds exceeding 100 mph on Thursday afternoon, crossing from Anderson County into Union County, and a mother allegedly urged the driver to go faster, authorities said.

The high-speed chase began at about 4:22 p.m. Thursday when Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a report of an aggravated burglary on Foster Road. They located a suspect gray Pontiac Grand Am being driven by Billy Ray Fox, 28, of Corryton, on Hickory Valley Road and Collins Gap Road. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man remains jailed on attempted arson, aggravated assault charges

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John Devin Ingram

John Devin Ingram

An Oak Ridge man remained jailed on Sunday on charges of aggravated assault and attempted arson after he allegedly poured lighter fluid on his wife, their home, and another victim, and tried to start a truck on fire, authorities said.

John Ingram, 23, was arrested Monday morning. Authorities said he had allegedly poured lighter fluid on the interior of a truck and side of a duplex that he and his wife share on Hunter Place and threatened to light it on fire. Ingram allegedly tried to start the truck on fire using a cigarette lighter, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett Robbins wrote in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

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

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Laphonso R. Porter

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…]

Police chief tackles one of two men fleeing in vehicle, on foot

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A police pursuit of a speeding SUV through Scarboro on Monday ended when Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi tackled one of two men who ran from the vehicle, and backup officers apprehended the second, court records said.

In affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Akagi said he was in an unmarked police car turning left onto Tulsa Road from Tusculum Drive at about 5:10 p.m. Monday when he heard screeching tires and saw a Ford Explorer approaching him from behind at high speed.

The chief said he quickly turned left onto Tulsa Road and pulled to the right to avoid being struck. The Explorer did not stop and swerved right onto Tulsa Road, Akagi said in the affidavits.

[Read more…]