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

Posted at 11:16 pm July 22, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Chris Luethge, crash, criminally negligent homicide, David Ege, Emily Faye Abbott, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide evidence of insurance, failure to yield the right-of-way resulting in death, fatal car-motorcycle crash, Michael Ritter, Noelle Leigh Patty, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless endangerment, Rufus E. Shephard III, Seventh Judicial District, trial

Courts: Trial scheduled in fatal car-motorcycle crash

Posted at 1:08 pm July 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Courts, For Members, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County grand jury, Chris Luethge, Clinton Police Department, criminally negligent homicide, Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, David Ege, Don Elledge, Emily Faye Abbott, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide proof of insurance, failure to yield the right-of-way resulting in death, fatal car-motorcycle crash, fatal crash, homicide, jury trial, Michael Ritter, motion to dismiss, Noelle Leigh Patty, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless endangerment, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved, Regional Forensic Center, Rufus E. Shephard III, Seventh Judicial District

Woman charged with homicide in death of motorcyclist

Posted at 9:58 am August 11, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Noelle Leigh Patty

Noelle Leigh Patty

 

This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with homicide in the death of a motorcyclist in a fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue in January 2016. It’s one of two new felony charges added in the case against Noelle Leigh Patty, 40.

Patty is accused of criminally negligent conduct that resulted in the death of motorcyclist Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge, at the western exit of the Westcott Center, the Kroger shopping center, on January 31, 2016.

Patty was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on August 1, 2017, and she is facing five criminal charges. Two of the charges are felonies, and three are misdemeanors. The two felony charges, which are both new, are criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved. The three misdemeanor charges are failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide proof of insurance, and failure to yield the right of way, resulting in death. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Ben Haines, Chris Luethge, crash, criminally negligent homicide, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide proof of insurance, failure to yield the right-of-way, Lori Tuten, Matthew Johnston, Mike Ritter, Noelle Leigh Patty, North Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon is involved, Rufus E. Shephard III, Vickie Bannach

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