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Rocky Top man indicted for Oak Ridge bank robbery

Posted at 1:25 pm December 5, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A bank robbery was reported at One Bank in Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

A Rocky Top man has been indicted for allegedly robbing One Bank in Oak Ridge in October.

Warren Calvin Lavender, 31, was charged in a one-count indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Greenville, Tennessee, on November 18.

Lavender entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment on December 3, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Lavender will remain in custody pending trial, which has been set for December 28 in front of United States District Court Judge Travis McDonough, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S., United States Tagged With: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oak Ridge Police Department, One Bank, robbery, United States District Court, Warren Calvin Lavender

Robbery reported at One Bank

Posted at 11:43 am October 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A bank robbery was reported at One Bank in Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, and the Oak Ridge Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are searching for a suspect. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

A bank robbery was reported in Oak Ridge on Friday, and the Oak Ridge Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are searching for a suspect.

The robbery was reported by a silent alarm at One Bank on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 8:35 a.m. Friday, and dispatchers then received a phone call reporting the robbery, a press release said.

Officers responded and determined a white male, in his 20s, wearing a black knit watch cap, red face mask, black or dark gray hoodie, and blue jeans presented a note to tellers advising it was a bank robbery and demanding money, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: bank robbery, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, One Bank, ORPD, robbery

Anderson County man charged with robbing credit union

Posted at 3:33 pm September 30, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Joshua Ryan Hutchins

An Anderson County man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly robbed a credit union in Oak Ridge.

The alleged robbery of Enrichment Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Joshua Ryan Hutchins, 27, was arrested less than seven hours later, just before midnight, by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force.

According to a court affidavit, Hutchins allegedly entered the credit union during the Tuesday evening robbery and presented a note to a teller that said, “This is a Robbery…”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Enrichment Federal Credit Union, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joshua Ryan Hutchins, Kevin Craig, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force

ORPD, FBI investigating robbery at credit union

Posted at 8:02 pm September 29, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Law enforcement officers are investigating a robbery at Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

The robbery was reported at about 5:24 p.m. Tuesday at the credit union on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. It’s being investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During the alleged robbery, a suspect handed a note to tellers demanding money, a press releases said. No weapon was displayed or threatened, the press release said.

The suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money and is described as a white male in his 30s with brown hair. He was last seen wearing a grey/white ball cap, black face mask, and a grey hooded sweatshirt, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Enrichment Federal Credit Union, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, robbery

Regions Bank robbery still being investigated

Posted at 12:33 pm September 1, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Regions Bank in Oak Ridge was robbed on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is searching for a suspect.

Law enforcement officers are still investigating the robbery of Regions Bank in June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday.

The robbery of the bank on Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge was reported at about 1:34 p.m. Wednesday, June 19.

A white man handed a note to a teller stating it was a robbery, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in June. The man fled on foot toward Vermont Avenue, according to the ORPD.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kevin Craig, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Rige, ORPD, Regions Bank, robbery

FBI, Clinton PD searching for suspected bank robber

Posted at 9:25 pm May 21, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Clinton Police Department are looking for a man suspected of robbing the Ft. Sill Bank inside the Walmart in Clinton on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Photo courtesy FBI)

Note: This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. May 22.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Clinton Police Department are looking for a man suspected of robbing a bank in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.

The FBI and CPD said a man robbed the local branch of the Fort Sill National Bank inside the Walmart in Clinton. The man entered the bank at 4:15 p.m. and demanded money, the FBI said.

“Reports say a suspect entered the bank, located inside the Walmart store, and passed a note demanding money,” the CPD said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: bank, bank robber, Clinton Police Department, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, robbery

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

Updated: Park Service will not provide visitor services during shutdown

Posted at 11:18 am December 22, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 1:50 p.m.

The National Park Service will not provide visitor services during the partial government shutdown that started Friday night, and that could affect programs in Oak Ridge and other national parks in the area. But Manhattan Project Park locations at three sites, including Oak Ridge, will remain open to the public and continue to provide visitor services.

Oak Ridge is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which is part of the National Park Service. The park, which is about three years old, commemorates the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Besides Oak Ridge, two other sites are part of the park: Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In Oak Ridge, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park is based at the Children’s Museum on West Outer Drive. The park includes programs such as historical films, celebrations, and programs, and informative hikes and bicycle rides with rangers.

The National Park Service did not respond to two inquiries this week, but a program scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Oak Ridge will presumably be canceled. That program was intended to discuss secrecy, security, and spies during the Manhattan Project. It was scheduled for this afternoon (Saturday, December 22) at the Turnpike Gatehouse in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government Tagged With: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, DOE, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal employees, government shutdown, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kris Kirby, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Earthquake Information Center, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, NPS, Oak Ridge, partial government shutdown, partial shutdown, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey

FBI agents will continue working if part of government shuts down

Posted at 1:25 pm December 21, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

FBI Knoxville

FBI Knoxville on Dowell Springs Road is pictured above in August 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will continue working if there a partial government shutdown because of a lapse in funding starting at midnight, but they will work without pay.

There is a disagreement involving Congress, President Donald Trump, Republicans, and Democrats over whether to include $5 billion in funding for a wall on the border with Mexico in spending legislation for a number of federal departments. So far, the parties haven’t agreed on a bill that could pass the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and be signed by Trump.

If an agreement isn’t reached, funding will expire for nine federal departments and a number of agencies. The departments include the U.S. Department of Justice, which includes the FBI. The FBI field office in Knoxville covers Anderson, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union counties, among others. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: FBI, FBI field office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, government shutdown, Jason Pack, Knoxville, U.S. Department of Justice

DA: Cromwell, other ‘sovereign citizens’ convicted in fraudulent liens case

Posted at 4:26 pm May 3, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide in a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks two years ago, was sentenced to 12 years in prison during a hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

Lee Harold Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide in a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge in 2015, was sentenced to 12 years in prison during a hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 19, 2017. In a separate case, Cromwell was convicted this week in Nashville along with four other defendants in a fraudulent liens case, and he will be sentenced June 27. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:30 a.m. May 4.

Five “sovereign citizens,” including Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, were convicted of more than 200 counts in Nashville this week in a case where the defendants had been accused of filing fraudulent liens against local and state officials in East Tennessee, including judges, prosecutors, and police officers in Anderson County, an official said Thursday.

Before the convictions, seven sovereign citizens from Anderson County had been charged in February 2017 with forgery and filing liens without a legal basis, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release Thursday. Those charges came after an investigation that had been requested by Clark and was conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Many of the cases were tried in Nashville, and a jury returned a verdict this week of guilty on all counts, Clark said. Clark and his wife were both victims of the fraudulent liens, so Clark had requested another district attorney general to prosecute the case.

“As the liens were filed electronically at the Secretary of State’s Office in Nashville, it made sense to have the defendants indicted and prosecuted in Davidson County,” Clark said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County, Austin Gary Cooper, Christopher Alan Hauser, Dave Clark, Davidson County, Federal Bureau of Investigation, filing liens without a legal basis, forgery, forgery over the value of $250000, fraudulent liens, Glenn Funk, James Michael Usinger, Lee Harold Cromwell, Ronald James Lyons, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General, sovereign citizens, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Nuclear engineer receives two years in prison for violating Atomic Energy Act

Posted at 10:23 am September 3, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice

KNOXVILLE—On Thursday, Szuhsiung Ho, also known as Allen Ho, 66, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan to serve 24 months in prison and one year of supervised release. Upon his release, he will be supervised by U.S. Probation for one year. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000.

Ho pleaded guilty in January 2017 to conspiracy to unlawfully engage or participate in the production or development of special nuclear material outside the United States, without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy, in violation of the Atomic Energy Act, a press release said.

An April 2016 indictment charged Ho; China General Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC), the largest nuclear power company in China; and Energy Technology International (ETI), a Delaware corporation, with these offenses. At the time of his indictment, Ho was a nuclear engineer, employed as a consultant by CGNPC, and he was also the owner of ETI. CGNPC specialized in the development and manufacture of nuclear reactors and was controlled by China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Police and Fire, U.S., U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Allen Ho, Atomic Energy Act, Bart Slabbekorn, Casey T. Arrowood, CGNPC, Charles E. Atchley Jr., China, China General Nuclear Power Company, Dana J. Boente, DOE, Eastern District of Tennessee, Energy Technology International, ETI, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeffrey M. Smith, Nancy Stallard Harr, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Security Division, Renae McDermott, special nuclear material, State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Szuhsiung Ho, Tennessee Valley Authority—Office of the Inspector General, Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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

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