John Criswell Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Man pleads guilty to reckless homicide in death of father after argument

Posted at 8:18 am November 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless homicide in the death of his father after an argument in an Oak Ridge parking lot in 2014.

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Woman receives three-year sentence in drug overdose

Posted at 5:37 pm March 31, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Heather Marie Rau

An Oak Ridge woman received a three-year prison sentence in a plea agreement on Monday after a drug overdose that reportedly involved a fentanyl analogue last year left a man unconscious on a hallway floor with a very weak pulse and unable to breathe on his own.

Heather Mariue Rau, 30, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday to charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with illegal narcotics (acrylfentanyl), promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drugs for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges were from two separate indictments against Rau last year.

A second, duplicate charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Rau must pay court costs and fines that appear to total close to $9,000, according to criminal judgements filed by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk. She will receive credit for time served after being jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton since February 16, 2017. As a standard offender, her release eligibility has been set at 30 percent. [Read more…]

Woman indicted on assault, endangerment charges in drug overdose

Posted at 10:31 pm September 10, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Heather Marie Rau

An Oak Ridge woman has been indicted on charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in a drug overdose reported in February.

The drug that allegedly caused the overdose of Wesley “Bud” Arnold on West Outer Drive on February 16 had been said to be heroin, according to affidavits filed earlier this year in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Arnold was unconscious on a hallway floor, had a very weak pulse, and could not breathe on his own when an emergency medical crew responded to the overdose at about 3 p.m. February 16. Emergency personnel were able to revive Arnold by giving him a dose of Narcan, which is used to help people who overdose on opioid-based narcotics.

But indictments filed against Heather Marie Rau, 29, on August 1, said the illegal narcotic was not heroin but actually acrylfentanyl, a fentanyl analogue that is more powerful and dangerous than heroin.

Rau had advised Arnold not to “shoot it,” or inject it, because she knew that what she had given him could possibly kill him, according to the affidavits filed in February. Rau and another man, Willie Williams, had ingested the same drug on February 12, and Rau overdosed while Williams died, said the affidavits, filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John Criswell. [Read more…]

Knoxville man indicted in alleged robbery that ended in shooting

Posted at 3:23 pm September 9, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Matthew Allen Mashburn

A Knoxville man has been indicted in an alleged robbery that was reportedly set up through social media and resulted in a man being shot in the legs on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge in November.

Matthew Allen Mashburn, 28, of Knox Lane in Knoxville, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, and aggravated assault. He was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, September 5.

The indictments said that the victim, Wesley Arnold, was seriously injured and assaulted while a handgun was displayed, and Mashburn had conspired with Nicole Brewer to plan the aggravated robbery during a drug transaction.

Mashburn has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, September 29, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

Man indicted on reckless homicide charge in death of Lauren Fritts

Posted at 5:41 pm April 11, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Troy Andrew Venable

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on a reckless homicide charge in the death of an Oak Ridge High School graduate and former goalkeeper for the Lady Wildcats who was, at the time of her death, the member and customer service representative at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Lauren Alexandra Fritts, 26, died Saturday, October 8, 2016, according to her obituary.

Troy Andrew Venable, 28, was indicted on the reckless homicide charge in her death on Tuesday, April 4. He was arrested Friday afternoon and released about four hours later from the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. His bond has been set at $25,000. [Read more…]

Robbery that ends in shooting arranged through social media, described as ‘drug deal gone bad,’ warrants say

Posted at 12:50 pm November 17, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said. The three defendants are, from left, Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge; Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knoxville. (Photos by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

The Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane was allegedly a robbery arranged through social media, and it was described by the alleged shooter as a “drug deal gone bad,” authorities said.

The shooting, which injured Wesley Arnold of Peach Orchard Road in Clinton, occurred at about 12:58 p.m. Tuesday at 104 East Holston Lane. Arnold had two gunshot wounds, one to each leg. He was hit as he attempted to flee the East Holston Lane home, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Marvell Moore.

After the shooting, three people were quickly arrested and charged with especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony; aggravated assault, a Class C felony; and criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony. They are Nicholas Strickland, 25, of South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge; Nicole Brewer, 19, of Highland Avenue in Oak Ridge; and Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knox Lane in Knoxville.

Brewer told Moore that she arranged the robbery, and she contacted Arnold, the victim, through a social media site to conduct the deal, Moore wrote in the warrants.

“She (Brewer) advised the drug deal was supposed to be a ‘rip,’ meaning there wasn’t going to be any money exchanged for the substance (methamphetamine),” Moore said. [Read more…]

ORPD investigates after SUV reportedly crashes through two yards, hits tree on Wabash

Posted at 4:04 pm May 25, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department was investigating a crash on Wabash Lane on Wednesday afternoon after a sport utility vehicle drove through bushes in one yard and knocked down a sidewalk railing before knocking down a fence and crashing into a tree in another. Pictured above is ORPD Detective John Criswell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 9 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was investigating a crash on Wabash Lane on Wednesday afternoon after a sport utility vehicle reportedly drove through bushes in one yard and knocked down a sidewalk railing before crossing the street into anther yard, where it knocked down a fence and crashed into a tree.

The crash was reported at 2:38 p.m. Wednesday at 126 Wabash Lane.

Witnesses said the Ford Escape had come off Waddell Circle, a one-way street, crashed through bushes in the front yard of a house at the corner of Waddell Circle and Waddell Place, curved through the yard, where it knocked down a sidewalk railing, and then crossed Wabash Lane into the yard of the second home, where it reportedly knocked over part of a fence and a recycling bin and hit an air-conditioning unit, according to residents. The SUV hit a tree about 100 feet from the street in the back yard of that home, and it also appeared to have clipped the side of the two-story home. [Read more…]

No proof that anything illegal occurred between ORHS teacher, student, ORPD says

Posted at 10:03 am April 5, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated an allegation of sexual misconduct between an Oak Ridge High School teacher and a student, but the police investigation has been closed due to a lack of evidence that anything illegal occurred, according to an incident report released Monday.

But the Oak Ridge Schools investigation continues, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

The Oak Ridge High School teacher, who wasn’t named, was suspended from all teaching duties without pay in February pending the investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The allegation stemmed from a note that was reportedly seen by two students in a high school class, the ORPD report said. The note had these words written on it: “you are cute #smoosh,” according to students. The report said the term “smoosh” is commonly used to refer to having sex.

The teacher told investigators that he had written the note, but it was meant for a few other male students as a joke, according to a 16-page incident report released Monday. He said he had not known what “smoosh” meant. He told investigators that he thought it was “smoosh someone’s face or to punch them, but not really.”

“He had a hard time explaining this to us, and we had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say,” Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John Criswell said in the report. “When we asked him now the ‘note’ made it into the hands of his students, he stated that one of the students had written something inappropriate on their paper so he took that paper and replaced it with his.” [Read more…]

Warrants: Man charged with attempted murder threatened to kill fetus, pregnant teen girlfriend

Posted at 2:01 am March 22, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Khristoff Deshawn Lee

The Oak Ridge man who was charged with attempted first-degree murder on March 1 allegedly threatened to kill his pregnant teenage girlfriend and her fetus, and repeatedly punched her in the stomach, head, and back, authorities said.

The pregnant 15-year-old female said she went to the Wakefield Road home of Khristoff Deshawn Lee, a 21-year-old with whom she had a relationship, on October 17, 2014, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

After she arrived, the girl said, the two met in the bathroom, where Lee allegedly closed the door and told her, “(Expletive), you know what time it is,” according to the warrants, which were filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John Criswell.

The girl, who was about two months pregnant at the time, said Lee then punched her in the stomach, head, and back multiple times, according to the warrants. [Read more…]

Pay cited most often as reason for ORPD turnover, low morale, MTAS report says

Posted at 8:05 pm October 15, 2015
By John Huotari 23 Comments

Margaret Norris and Rex Barton of MTAS on Oct. 15, 2015

Margaret Norris, left, and Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee deliver the results of a six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department to City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Oct. 16.

It probably wasn’t the explanation that many expected, but pay was cited most often as the reason for turnover and low morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a report released Thursday.

Some have pinned most of the blame for the department’s woes—or perceived woes, depending upon your perspective—on Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, and they had called for an investigation of the chief earlier this year on several different fronts.

Among those pressing for an investigation was Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She and others had raised questions about the chief’s temperament, including whether he has outbursts and is vindictive, and what Baughn suggested is a high turnover rate.

But the City Council instead approved a review of the ORPD that focused on morale, turnover, and administrative policies. In March, Council hired the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee to conduct the six-month review, which was first proposed by Council member Kelly Callison. MTAS presented its findings in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday.

The report identified a primary culprit familiar to many workers: pay. But as officers have pointed out, they, unlike most other workers, face danger on a daily basis.

Most of those interviewed by MTAS thought that ORPD salaries are not suitable for retaining good employees, MTAS consultant Rex Barton told Council members Thursday. Whatever raises have been given in the past few years have been outstripped by the rise in the cost of benefits, Barton said.

[Read more…]

Photos: Police Lives Matter rally

Posted at 2:17 am September 27, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

About 65 people attended a Police Lives Matter rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, September 19, showed support for police officers and first responders. It included music, prayer, several speakers, a reading of the names of fallen officers, a short march, and a candlelight vigil.

“I had this for support of our police officers, first responders, and all lives,” said Kevin Rice, one of the three organizers.

Here are pictures from the rally.

The Police Lives Matter rally included a candlelight vigil at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

ORPD review expanded to include all employees, some former workers

Posted at 11:18 am April 23, 2015
By John Huotari 18 Comments

But MTAS will have to agree to changes

The review of the Oak Ridge Police Department has been expanded to include interviews with all employees. The review could also include interviews with former employees who have left the Police Department since Police Chief Jim Akagi started almost four years ago.

Initial plans had called for a limited review of the Oak Ridge Police Department and interviews of a random sample or cross-section of employees.

But the Oak Ridge City Council expanded the review during a special meeting on Tuesday. That special meeting was called after concerns were raised about the initial list of randomly selected interviewees being sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, which raised questions about the impartiality and confidentiality of the review.

By one estimate, the expanded review could include interviews with more than 100 people. And it’s not clear if the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee will agree to the expanded review, or if they might charge the city.

The City Council agreed to expand the review during a three-hour special meeting on Tuesday that included criticism of MTAS, accusations of collusion between Council members, and an attempt by Council member Trina Baughn to have resident Joe Lee, one of her chief critics, stop taking pictures during a public comment session. [Read more…]