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Meth, conspiracy charges dismissed after warrantless search

Posted at 12:39 pm January 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

Citing a warrantless search, an Anderson County judge has dismissed drug and conspiracy charges in a case where police allegedly found 45.1 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack in an Oak Ridge motel room in May.

“I hate to dismiss serious charges,” said Roger Miller, judge of the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. But, he added, “I don’t think the proof would hold up.”

Suggesting that a search warrant should have been obtained, Miller said he is accessible and signs many search warrants.

The two people charged in the case had been William Michael Renfro, 18, of Oak Ridge, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22, also of Oak Ridge.

Renfro had been charged with manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule II controlled substance (the 45.1 grams of meth), a Class A felony; criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony; manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule IV controlled substance (9.5 grams of marijuana), a Class D felony; and possession of a firearm (a Ruger Security Six .357 revolver with six rounds) during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class D felony.

All four of those charges were dismissed after a preliminary hearing for Renfro in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Thursday, December 12. During a preliminary hearing, a judge can hear from witnesses, victims, and police officers, and determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Adam Fairbanks, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Carlie Alise Wisman, criminal conspiracy, Kevin Angel, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule II controlled substance, manufacturing selling delivering or possessing a Schedule IV controlled substance, methamphetamine, Oak Ridge Police Department, possession of a firearm, preliminary hearing, Roger Miller, search warrant, warrantless search, William Michael Renfro

For members: Man sentenced to 8 months after fight with officers

Posted at 9:58 pm July 18, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department Badge

A man who fought with Oak Ridge police officers, injuring five of them, pleaded guilty last week to five counts of aggravated assault on an officer, and he was sentenced to serve eight months in the Anderson County jail, according to court records. 

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 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 in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content Tagged With: aggravated assault, aggravated assault on an officer, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Kevin Angel, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, Sarah Self, Sherrill Selby, Thurman B. Bates

For members: Drug case involved thousands of pills, overseas apprehension, possible deportation

Posted at 4:34 pm May 4, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

CLINTON—A drug case that started with an online search for Xanax ended with a police search that found more than 10,000 pills in an Anderson County home, an overseas apprehension, three plea deals, and a possible deportation.

The third and final plea deal was entered during a hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton late Friday morning. The defendant, who had been brought to the United States after being detained at an airport in Dubai in July, wants to be deported, his attorney said.

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.  Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 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 in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County Detention Facility, clonazepam, conspiracy to sell Schedule IV drugs, deportation, drug case, Gene McKinley Miller, international extradition, Kevin Angel, lorazepam, Moshin Agha, plea deal, possession of Schedule IV drugs for resale, Ryan Spitzer, Seventh Judicial District, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Shelley Dawn Hicks Robbins, tramodol, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, zolpidem

Man, woman receive sentences of 3-5 years in robbery pleas

Posted at 2:27 am April 10, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

 

A Powell woman received a five-year sentence and a Knoxville man received a three-year sentence when they pleaded guilty to a robbery in Claxton that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 29, entered her plea agreement in Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court in Clinton on October 29.

Her co-defendant, Richard Paul Pressley, 32, entered his plea agreement last week, on Tuesday, April 2.

As part of their plea deals, an aggravated robbery charge filed against both Pressleys was reduced to robbery. Their charges of especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon were reduced to kidnapping. And charges of conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping were reduced to conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping. Charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery remained unchanged. All four charges are felony charges.

In each case, the sentences for the individual charges run concurrently, or at the same time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Ann Coria, backpage.com, Bradley Prewitt, Don Elledge, Kevin Angel, kidnapping, Lindsay Elaine Pressley, plea agreement, Richard Paul Pressley, robbery, robbery plea, Ryan M. Spitzer

Courts: Attempted murder charges sent to grand jury after apartment shooting

Posted at 10:59 pm August 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kali Annabelle Bailey

Two attempted first-degree murder charges filed against a 20-year-old woman after a shooting in an Oak Ridge apartment parking lot in May have been sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

The charges against Kali Annabelle Bailey, whose last known address was in Powell, were bound over, or sent to, the grand jury, after a 100-minute preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, July 31. A victim and a police officer both testified during the preliminary hearing.

Bailey is accused of shooting into a Kia Optima car that had two people inside and was backed into a parking space in the Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 11:03 p.m. May 6 as part of a possible dispute between two women over a man, which was described in court as jealousy or a “love triangle.”

The rest of this story, which includes testimony that you will read about only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor. 

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Please let us know if you advertise on Oak Ridge Today, have recently contributed, or subscribe through PayPal or check payments, but you have not yet been added to our website as a member. You can send an email to [email protected] to be added. Thank you!

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 in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, attempted first-degree murder, attempted tampering with evidence, Bailee D. Bolden, Becky A. Bell, Brian Gilliam, Christopher Wallace, criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, Kali Annabelle Bailey, Kevin Angel, Manhattan Apartments, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, preliminary hearing, reckless endangerment, Roger Miller, Seth M. Davis, Seventh Judicial District, shooting, solicitation of tampering with evidence

Exclusive: Two plead guilty in robbery that ends with shooting

Posted at 2:38 pm July 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man and woman pleaded guilty on Monday to their roles in a robbery that started as a drug deal set up through social media and ended with a shooting that injured one person.

The plea agreements for the two defendants, Nicole Marie Brewer, 21, and Nicholas Rashad Strickland, 27, were entered in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday. The robbery and shooting were reported on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.

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. 

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

  • Monthly subscription ($10 per month)
  • Yearly subscription ($100 per year)
  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

Please let us know if you advertise on Oak Ridge Today, have recently contributed, or subscribe through PayPal or check payments, but you have not yet been added to our website as a member. You can send an email to [email protected] to be added. Thank you!

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 in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, For Members, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault while displaying a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, Anderson County Criminal Court, Anderson County General Sessions Court, Anderson County grand jury, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, East Holston Lane, especially aggravated robbery, Kevin Angel, Lewis Ridenour, Marvell Moore, Matthew Allen Mashburn, Matthew Tuck, Nicholas Rashad Strickland, Nicole Marie Brewer, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, robbery, Ryan Spitzer, Seventh Judicial District Assistant Attorney General, shooting, Wesley "Bud" Arnold

Hearing set for Tuesday in attempted murder case

Posted at 4:11 pm May 16, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

A hearing date has been set for Tuesday for a woman charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot into an occupied vehicle in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Oak Ridge on Sunday, May 6.

The hearing for Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, of Powell, has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The hearing date was scheduled on the assumption that Bailey is not able to be released on a $250,000 bond.

But it’s not clear if the date might change if Bailey is able to be released on bail, or if any of the subpoenas that might be issued in the case are not served between now and Tuesday. Two subpoenas were issued to victims in court on Tuesday this week, according to Anderson County court records. There is one more subpoena that has been issued, but not served, and that’s to an Oak Ridge Police Department officer, the court records said.

Bailey had allegedly threatened to shoot one of the two people in the vehicle, a female passenger, several months before she allegedly shot into it on May 6, authorities said. Bailey had reportedly tried to argue with the female victim, Bailee D. Bolden of Oak Ridge, about her relationship with the male victim, Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, authorities said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, Anderson County General Sessions Court, attempted first-degree murder, attempted murder, Bailee D. Bolden, Christopher W. Wallace, Kali Annabelle Bailey, Kevin Angel, Oak Ridge Police Department, reckless endangerment, Roger Miller, Seth M. Davis

Lincoln’s able to sell beer again while appeal pending

Posted at 10:12 pm October 8, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lincoln's Sports Grille

Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue is pictured above on Monday evening.

 

They weren’t able to sell beer for more than a month, but an agreement reached with a city board in September, modified on Thursday, and approved by a judge on Friday allows Lincoln’s Sports Grille to resume selling the alcoholic beverage for now.

The Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board revoked Lincoln’s beer permit on August 28. The revocation went into effect immediately.

But Lincoln’s has appealed that decision and had asked that the revocation be put on hold while the legal case is pending. On September 16, the Beer Board agreed in a 5-2 vote.

The board’s agreement was initially conditioned upon a list of 13 items. One of the conditions, which would have required an owner to be present at all times, has since been removed. (The board approved the removal in a 4-0 vote on Thursday after a pair of split 2-2 votes.) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: alcohol sales, Aubrey's Inc., Back to Brewski's, beer, beer board, beer permit, family-friendly, food service, Ian's Market #32, Kevin Angel, Lincoln's Sports Grille, Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, Oak Ridge Police Department, revocation, sales, Scott Green, show cause hearing

TDEC provides violation notices, timeline on pet crematory where remains excavated

Posted at 2:46 pm December 8, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on Wednesday provided copies of the violation notices sent to the Morgan County crematory where animal remains were excavated last week after a state investigation.

TDEC also provided the media with an event timeline for September and October at Elliott Pet Services on Grouse Ridge Road, copies of annual inspection reports, and a state response to complainants Dana and Fegan Kenny.

You can read the documents here: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Morgan County, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Alyson Kennedy, Cameo Farr, crematory, Dana Kenny, Division of Solid Waste Management, Elliott Pet Services, Fegan Kenny, Grouse Ridge Road, investigation, Kevin Angel, Morgan County, pet owner, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, violation notices

Impossible to identify animal remains excavated at pet crematory, state says

Posted at 12:09 pm December 6, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Elliott Pet Service Excavation

Dump trucks remove pet remains on Wednesday that had been excavated from Elliott Pet Services in Morgan County. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV)

It will not be possible to identify animals buried at a pet crematory in Morgan County where remains were excavated this week after a state investigation, officials said Wednesday.

News of the investigation and excavations this week has left many pet owners, including in Anderson County, wondering whether animals they paid to have cremated might be among those buried at the rural wooded site near the Roane County line.

The crematory site on Grouse Ridge Road is operated by Elliott Pet Services. It was the subject of a citizen’s complaint in September that alleged animals were being dumped on the site.

In September, the business also received an open dumping violation notice from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. And in October, the company was cited for not maintaining logs.

Business owner Cameo Farr and her attorney, Kevin Angel of Oak Ridge, told several Knoxville television stations that burying animals is part of her business, and she has always cremated animals that were supposed to be cremated. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Morgan County, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Alyson Kennedy, Anderson County, animal remains, animals, buried animals, Cameo Farr, Dames for Danes, dead animals, Division of Solid Waste Management, Elliott Pet Services, Great Danes, Grouse Ridge Road, incinerator, Jake, Karen Dypolt, Kevin Angel, Morgan County, Ninth Judicial District, pet crematory, Roane County, Scooby, Shannon Ashford, solid waste, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, violation notice, WATE, WBIR, WVLT

Robertsville Rams finish season 8-1, win conference championship

Posted at 7:44 am October 16, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 3 Comments

Robertsville Middle School Rams

The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finished the season with an 8-1 overall record. (Submitted photo)

Submitted

The Robertsville Rams capped off a great season Thursday night with a 34-14 win over conference rival Rhea Central Middle School. The Rams finish the season with an 8-1 overall record, with their only loss coming in a double overtime thriller against Christian Academy of Knoxville.

This team is the first to win a conference championship at Robertsville since 2006. The win over Rhea Central marks an impressive seven-game win streak for the Rams football program led by some strong future Oak Ridge Wildcats.

“This team has been fun to coach. They battle every game. Even in our one loss, they realize and see how close we were,” said Chris Layton, head football coach of Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Middle School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Adarius Simpson, Chris Layton, Christian Academy of Knoxville, City Champs, Cobe Walls, conference championship, football, Garrett Wilson, Jack Borchers, Jacob Ownby, Jayson Colwell, Jayven Booker, Joe Gaddis, Jordan Graham, Kevin Angel, Levert Smith, Luke Bridgeman, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Wildcats, Rhea Central, Robertsville Middle School, Robertsville Rams, Sam McFarland, Tony Miller, Tre Jackson

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

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

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