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Clinton mother dies, three children injured in Knoxville crash

Posted at 10:12 am July 24, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A mother identified as a Clinton resident died and her three children were injured in a single-vehicle crash in Knoxville on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 6:42 a.m. Saturday at Western Avenue and Mynders Avenue.

When they arrived, Knoxville Police Department officers found a 1998 Ford Explorer that had flipped and was on its side with the driver and three children trapped, the KPD said. Civilians and emergency personnel were able to remove the three children from the vehicle. Their mother died on the scene.

All three children were taken to Children’s Hospital and treated for minor injuries, the KPD said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Police and Fire Tagged With: crash, Joyce Holt, Knoxville crash, Knoxville Police Department, KPD

KPD: Body of Oak Ridge man found in Ft. Loudoun Lake

Posted at 1:17 pm June 20, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The body of an Oak Ridge man was found Saturday afternoon in Ft. Loudoun Lake, authorities said.

The man has been identified as Tomas Skyler Ledford, 25, and he has an Oak Ridge address, the Knoxville Police Department said.

The KPD said it responded to a report of a body being discovered in Ft. Loudoun Lake below the River Towne Condos in Knoxville at about 2:27 p.m. Saturday.

According to the preliminary investigation, a couple of male friends had gone to the bluffs overlooking the river, where they consumed alcohol late Friday night, the KPD said. The pair became separated at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning, authorities said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Knoxville, Police and Fire Tagged With: Ft. Loudoun Lake, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, River Towne Condos, Tomas Skyler Ledford

Oak Ridge woman charged with murder in death of infant daughter in Knoxville

Posted at 11:23 am March 14, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Heather-Renee-Keylon

Heather Renee Keylon

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

A woman listed as an Oak Ridge resident was arrested Saturday on murder and child abuse charges for the death of her three-month-old daughter due to a drug overdose in Knoxville in April 2015, authorities said.

Heather Renee Keylon, 31, of 134 Waddell Circle in Oak Ridge, is facing charges of felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect, the Knoxville Police Department said. She was arrested Saturday and taken to the Knox County jail, where her bond has been set at $1 million.

Police responded to an unresponsive infant call at 3534 Old Valley View Drive, Apartment Number 12, in north Knoxville at about 12:39 p.m. April 21, 2015.

Keylon told police that her infant daughter, Skylar Brewer, had stopped breathing, the KPD said. The child had gone to sleep on the sofa, Keylon said, but she realized a short time later that Skylar wasn’t breathing and she called 911, authorities said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Knoxville, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, Department of Children’s Services, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, felony murder, Heather Renee Keylon, Knox County Criminal Court, Knox County Regional Forensic Center, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Skylar Brewer

ORPD officer, a former Vandy standout, terminated as statutory rape allegation investigated

Posted at 10:08 am August 17, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORPD Cassen Garrison

Witnesses said ORPD Officer Cassen Garrison used his hands to break out a back window of an Emory Valley Center van and rescue a client from the back of it after a May 12, 2015, crash at Northwestern and North Purdue avenues. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:25 a.m. Aug. 18.

A probationary Oak Ridge police officer who once played football for Vanderbilt University and the Kansas City Chiefs has been investigated, terminated, and will be prosecuted for allegations of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl and other charges, authorities said Monday.

The victim’s stepfather, who was in custody at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, made an allegation that the officer, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 30, had engaged in inappropriate contact with his stepdaughter, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release. The allegation was made to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy investigator at the jail.

Clark said Garrison was one of two officers who met the victim when he responded to the victim’s home in connection with a domestic violence complaint. The victim’s stepfather was arrested because of that complaint and remains jailed at the ACDF, Clark said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: Anderson County District Attorney General, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, Central High School, Darrell DeBusk, Dave Clark, football, investigators, Kansas City Chiefs, Knoxville Nighthawks, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, ORPD, Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force, statutory rape, TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Vanderbilt University, Vandy

AC woman arrested in Knoxville assault

Posted at 11:13 am May 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

An Andersonville woman has been arrested and charged in an attack that critically injured another woman at a North Knoxville motel this week, according to the Knoxville Police Department.

Denise Henry, 38, was arrested Wednesday night at a home on Strawberry Plains Pike and is being held on a $30,000 bond on a charge of aggravated assault for allegedly beating a woman outside America’s Best Value Inn and Suites on Merchant Drive.

KPD officers found 36-year-old Diana Trent unresponsive with severe head trauma about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Trent was rushed to UT Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Knoxville, Police and Fire Tagged With: aggravated assault, Andersonville, assault, Denise Henry, Diana Trent, Knoxville Police Department, KPD

The numbers: ORPD turnover 2007-2015

Posted at 9:26 am May 4, 2015
By John Huotari 9 Comments

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is one of several issues at the heart of a contentious debate over the ORPD and its chief, James T. Akagi.

But since the debate started in late January, there hasn’t been much public discussion of how the turnover rate compares, in either numbers or percentages, to the rate before Akagi started on July 1, 2011.

Information requested by Oak Ridge Today and provided by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and Personnel Director Penny Sissom sheds some light. That data goes back more than eight years, starting in Calendar Year 2007. That’s roughly 4.5 years before Akagi started and more than 3.5 years since.

Oak Ridge Today analyzed the data by calendar year (January-December) and fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The data shows that ORPD turnover ebbs and flows from year to year, with a high of 19 and a low of one.

Oak Ridge Police Department Turnover (2007-2015)

Here are the numbers by calendar year (CY), from January to December, based on city data: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: administrative policies, blue flu, Clinton Police Department, CPD, Darrell DeBusk, David H. Beams, James T. Akagi, Jim Akagi, John Thomas, Kelly Callison, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Kyle Scott, Mark Watson, morale, MTAS, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Personnel Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, ORPD turnover, Penny Sissom, review, Rick Scarbrough, Trina Baughn, University of Tennessee, UT

KPD training specialist to discuss bullying on Monday

Posted at 11:50 pm February 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Aubrey Maples

Aubrey Maples

Aubrey Maples, training specialist for the Safety Education Unit of the Knoxville Police Department, will speak at the Monday, February 23, luncheon meeting of the Oak Ridge Branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women) in Room 102 of the Activities Building at First Presbyterian Church, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Maples, who is a civilian educator with the KPD Safety Education Unit, will talk about the Department’s “Take a Stand Against Bullying” Program. Also present will be Officer Lori Banks of the Safety Education Unit.

Maples received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and is currently pursuing her master’s in applied behavioral science, with an emphasis on criminal justice and social problems, a press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Knoxville, Meetings and Events, Police and Fire Tagged With: AAUW, American Association of University Women, Aubrey Maples, behavioral science, bullying, criminal justice, First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Lori Banks, Marge Congdon, Mary Uziel, Oak Ridge Branch, Safety Education Unit, sociology, Take a Stand Against Bullying

FBI, KPD arrest Kingston suspect in Y-12 Credit Union robbery

Posted at 5:16 pm January 28, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Federal Credit Union Robbery on Clinton Highway

A surveillance photo from the alleged robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Clinton Highway on Friday, January 23. (Source: FBI)

The FBI and Knoxville Police Department on Saturday arrested a Kingston man suspected of robbing the Y-12 Federal Union on Clinton Highway on Friday.

Bryan Samples, 43, is being held without bail pending trial, said Marshall Stone, supervisory special agent for the FBI in Knoxville.

The robbery of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 6640 Clinton Highway was reported at about 4:49 p.m. Friday. A suspect entered the Credit Union and passed a teller a bank robbery demand note, obtained an undisclosed amount of money, and then fled. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Knoxville, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Clinton Highway, David Rausch, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Marshall Stone, robbery, Safe Streets Task Force, SSTF, Violent Crimes Unit, Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Updated: KPD pursuit passes through Anderson, ends in Union

Posted at 12:20 am January 23, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jeremy Shane Howard

Jeremy Shane Howard

The police chase that passed through Anderson County on Thursday night started at a Weigel’s store in Knoxville and ended with an arrest in Union County.

The Knoxville Police Department said officers observed a suspicious man at Weigel’s on Callahan and Central Avenue Pike on Thursday night. The man was observed by officers on special assignment for recent robberies in north Knoxville.

The suspect, who was wearing surgical gloves, had been in the store for an extended period of time acting suspiciously before leaving without purchasing any items, the KPD said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Knox County, Knoxville, Police and Fire, Tennessee, Top Stories, Union County Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, armed robbery, chase, Hickory Star Boat Dock, Hickory Valley Road, Jeremy Shane Howard, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Mark Lucas, Maynardville, Norris Lake, Overlook Trail, pursuit, robbery, Shawn Bannach, Union County Sheriff's Office

Dive team finds more human remains near underwater pickup

Posted at 2:40 pm March 21, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Derek Funk Pickup

A truck pulled from the water in south Knoxville may have belonged to a missing local man, according to Knoxville police. (Photo courtesy WBIR-TV)

More human remains have been found by a dive team near a pickup truck found under water on Thursday and last seen being driven by a man missing since 2010, authorities said.

The Knoxville Police Department said the 1996 Ford Ranger pickup truck found upside down and under water on Thursday is the same vehicle last seen being driven by Derek Ryan Funk, 19, who has been missing since May 12, 2010.

Earlier Friday, a Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad dive team had reported finding human remains near the pickup truck in the 1400 block of Island Home Avenue in South Knoxville, although it wasn’t clear if the remains belonged to Funk. Funk went to Oak Ridge High School, and his parents live in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Darrell DeBusk, Derek Funk, dive team, Island Home Avenue, Knoxville Police Department, Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad, KPD, pickup truck, underwater

Clinton police contribute to arrests on federal charges after Burger King robbery

Posted at 5:20 pm February 6, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Two Lenoir City residents face federal charges for their roles in a Jan. 30 robbery of a Burger King in Lenoir City, and the Clinton Police Department contributed to the arrests, federal officials said Thursday.

In a press release, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said Joshua Hayworth, 23, and Timothy E. Chudley, 35, both of Lenoir City, were charged Feb. 5 with federal Hobbs Act violations for their roles in the January robbery of the Burger King restaurant in Lenoir City.

Chudley was arrested in Knoxville on Feb. 5 without incident, and he appeared in federal court the same day, the press release said. Hayworth was arrested on state charges on Feb. 3 following a series of events which also resulted in federal carjacking charges against Hayworth. He will appear in federal court at a later date. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clinton, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Bob Gray Road, Burger King, Burger King robbery, carjacking, Clinton Police Department, FBI, FBI Safe Streets Task Force, federal charges, Hobbs Act, Joshua Hayworth, KCSO, Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Lenoir City, Lenoir City Police Department, Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, robbery, Timothy E. Chudley, U.S. Attorney, U.S. District Court, William C. Killian

Oliver Springs man dies in two-car crash on Schaad Road

Posted at 10:11 am December 12, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oliver Springs man died in a two-car crash on Schaad Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

James Shultz, 50, was driving west on Schaad Road in a 2005 Chevrolet Impala when he apparently crossed the center line and hit an eastbound 2004 Ford Escape driven by Kevyn Sterchi, 18, of Knoxville, the Knoxville Police Department said, citing the findings of a preliminary investigation.

Shultz was not wearing a seatbelt, the KPD said in a Thursday morning statement. He was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oliver Springs, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: car crash, crash, Darrell DeBusk, James Shultz, Kevyn Sterchi, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, KPD Major Crimes Unit, Oliver Springs, Schaad Road

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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...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

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

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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