homicide Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Sheriff’s Department investigating homicide

Posted at 10:45 am November 27, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting northeast of Oliver Springs on Sunday afternoon.

The shooting was reported before 5 p.m. Sunday on Back Half Moon Road in the Frost Bottom community, a press release said. When they arrived, deputies found that Buford Glenn Phillips, 62, had been shot and killed.

Sheriff’s investigators along with agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were called to the scene and are currently investigating the circumstances of the shooting, the press release said.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, no additional information can be released at this time,” the release said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Fatal July 4 crash: Victim, mechanic again dispute stuck-throttle claim

Posted at 10:35 am February 15, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee-Cromwell-Trial-Paul-Summers-James-Scott-Ben-Higgins-Feb-13-2017-Web

Defense attorney James Scott, right, talks to potential jurors in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, during the homicide trial for Lee Cromwell, 67, who is accused of killing a Knoxville man and injuring others as he backed through the crowded parking lot at the Midtown Community Center after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015. Also pictured is Senior Judge Paul Summers, top left, who was appointed to hear the case after Don Elledge recused himself, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins, center front. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 6 p.m.

CLINTON—On the witness stand on Tuesday, a mechanic and victim again disputed a claim that a stuck throttle might have been the cause of a parking lot crash that killed a Knoxville man and injured other people, including children, after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015.

The two witnesses—victim Michael Eldridge and mechanic David Carey of Secret City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram—were among 15 witnesses who testified from Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon in the homicide trial of Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton.

The witnesses included victims, police officers, and the wife of the man who died as well as the couple’s two young children.

Presentation of the evidence concluded Tuesday afternoon, and closing arguments were given Wednesday morning. The case went to the 12-person jury late Wednesday morning.

Cromwell is accused of killing James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville; injuring others; and crashing into several vehicles as he backed his Dodge Ram pickup truck through the crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, after fireworks across the street at Alvin K. Bissell Park. He is facing a vehicular homicide charge and eight counts of aggravated assault. [Read more…]

DA’s office also recused from July 4 fatal crash case because of liens filed by defendant

Posted at 9:05 pm July 26, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Anderson County Criminal Court Lee Cromwell Jim Scott July 25 2016

Lee Cromwell, right, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and 16 other charges after a fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015, huddles with his family and defense attorney James Scott, left, after an arraignment in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday, July 25, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 11:47 a.m. July 27.

CLINTON—First the judge recused himself and now the district attorney general’s office has been recused in a homicide case filed against an Oak Ridge man after a fatal crash in the crowded parking lot of Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

Both recusals were because of liens filed by the defendant, Lee Harold Cromwell, 66. The recusals mean another judge has already been appointed, and another DA will have to be appointed. A lien is a claim that one person owes something to another person.

Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge recused himself during a June 3 arraignment because of an $8 million lien filed against him by Cromwell.

“It was upsetting that he filed a frivolous lien against me,” Elledge said Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can legally, morally, and ethically to prosecute him criminally and civilly to the full extent of the law.”

Then, during a rescheduled arraignment on Monday, defense attorney James K. Scott asked for Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark and the DA’s office to also be recused. That was because of liens that Cromwell filed against the DA and another member of his office in “misplaced mindset” in a “misguided effort, out of desperation, to advocate for his innocence without the knowledge or advice of counsel,” Scott said in a motion to recuse. [Read more…]

Bond reduced for Cromwell, driver in fatal parking lot crash

Posted at 4:38 pm July 28, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, right, is escorted through Anderson County General Sessions Court on Tuesday by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Derek Setzer. Cromwell has been charged with homicide and aggravated assault, among other charges, after a fatal parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. July 30.

Bond was reduced to $100,000 on Tuesday for an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 people in a parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks.

There were concerns about whether Lee Cromwell, 65, considers himself a “sovereign citizen” and denies governmental authority, and Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller reported that Cromwell was somewhat defiant at his arraignment.

Still, Miller lowered bond for Cromwell from about $205,500 to $100,000, more than cutting it in half.

Cromwell was released Tuesday evening. He is prohibited from contacting the victims. [Read more…]

Driver of pickup truck that killed one, injured nine charged with homicide

Posted at 3:37 pm July 22, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lee Cromwell

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck that backed through the parking lot at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks, killing one and injuring nine, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Lee Cromwell, 65, was arrested at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Police Department without incident by patrol officers, authorities said.

Cromwell’s truck allegedly hit James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, killing him, the ORPD said after the crash.

Cromwell has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of reckless homicide, 12 counts of aggravated assault, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of driving with a license that is suspended or revoked, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Suspect to be charged with murder in apparent homicide, police say

Posted at 9:09 am April 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Clinton Police Department is investigating the death of a female who appeared to have been stabbed and was reportedly knocking on doors and asking for help early Saturday morning, authorities said.

A statement from Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough said officers responded to a report of a disturbance at 301 Park Ave. at about 2:25 a.m. Saturday.

“Upon officer’s arrival, a witness stated that a male and female had been arguing before they both fled on foot,” the statement said. “At approximately 2:30 a.m., another call came in from (the) nearby 800 block of McAdoo Street, for a female knocking on doors asking for help. Upon the officer’s arrival, they found a female victim who appeared to have been stabbed. Victim died on the scene.” [Read more…]

Domestic violence down; most victims female, TBI says

Posted at 6:25 pm September 30, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Reports of domestic violence fell 3.4 percent during a three-year period from 2010 to 2012 in Tennessee, state authorities said.

Nearly 72 percent of the victims were female in cases where the gender of the victims were known, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a recently released study.

The TBI analyzed the state’s domestic violence crime data as reported by law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System, or TIBRS, program. The data showed a 0.4 percent drop in domestic violence reports from 2010 to 2011 and a 2.9 percent decrease from 2011 to 2012. [Read more…]

Anderson man arrested for death of woman who fell from van

Posted at 4:08 pm May 14, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

James Richard Wylie

An Anderson County man indicted for homicide last week in the death of a Lake City woman who allegedly fell from his vehicle last year was arrested today, authorities said.

An investigation showed that Martha Rose McGhee, 33, of Lake City, fell out of a vehicle driven by James Wylie, 54, of Clinton, on Cobb Hollow Road just outside Lake City on Sept. 12 and hit her head, causing her death, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a Tuesday press release. [Read more…]