Oak Ridge Today

After crash, search, man sentenced on gun charge, woman indicted on drug charges

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Car Crash at Hilltop and West Outer Drive

Police said the driver of this silver Infiniti fled on foot after a three-car crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive on Monday night, Sept. 21, 2015, just a few hours after a shooting was reported a short distance away on Wakefield Road. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A man was sentenced on a federal gun charge in September and a woman was indicted on state drug charges in June after a three-car crash reported after a shooting in 2015 led authorities to track a driver to a home in north Oak Ridge, where officers allegedly found 49 grams of suspected heroin and other drugs.

Larry Dewayne Williams of Oak Ridge pleaded guilty to a federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on September 26. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves to the minimum seven years in prison, or 84 months.

In June, Chelsey Reign Lively, identified as Williams’ girlfriend in court documents, was indicted on state drug charges of selling, delivering, or possessing heroin for sale; selling, delivering, or possessing for sale more than 14.175 grams of marijuana; and selling, delivering, or possessing ethylone for sale. The Anderson County Grand Jury indicted Lively on June 6, and she was arraigned in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on June 30.

The circumstances of the shooting, reported on Wakefield Road at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, September 21, 2015, remain unclear. No injuries were reported, although three bullets were reported to have hit one home. It’s not clear who the shooter was or if there was more than one person involved. There appeared to be a significant number of rounds fired. Investigating that night, Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Kevin Craig documented 21 casings.

About two hours after that shooting was reported, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins tried to stop a silver Infiniti sedan that was reported to be involved in the shooting, according to court documents. But the silver Infiniti fled, ran a red light, and caused a three-car crash at West Outer Drive and North Illinois Avenue in north Oak Ridge, the court documents said. The Infiniti rolled onto its side and burst into flames, and Williams, identified as the driver, climbed out of the car and ran into the woods, according to his plea agreement. [Read more…]

Two federal trials rescheduled: One for alleged bank extortion, second for federal gun charge

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to an alleged kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. A trial for one of the defendants has been rescheduled to November 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two federal trials for crimes allegedly committed in Oak Ridge, including one that involved an alleged bank extortion attempt, have been rescheduled.

The first trial had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But it has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, November 7. That trial is for Michael Anthony Benanti, 43, of Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Benanti and a co-defendant, Brian Scott Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine, had been named in a 15-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury in December. They were accused of kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton. The Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge was one of the three financial institutions that was targeted.

Witham pleaded guilty March 1. His sentencing is set for August 17. He reportedly faces a minimum 42-year prison term, but could receive a life term. [Read more…]

April trial scheduled for man facing federal gun charge after September shooting, crash

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

An April trial has been scheduled for a man facing a federal gun charge after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September.

Larry Dewayne Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition. Authorities said police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car.

The trial had initially been scheduled to start Tuesday, January 12, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But after reviewing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Reeves agreed late last year that Williams needed additional time to prepare his case, and government prosecutors didn’t object, according to court records. The new trial date is April 5.

The plea agreement deadline is March 29.

Williams allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after a September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside, authorities said. [Read more…]

Wanted after Oak Ridge shooting, Williams now faces federal gun charge

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

The Oak Ridge man wanted after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September now faces a federal firearms charge after police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car, authorities said.

Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury this month on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on October 6.

Williams, who was arrested near a South Knoxville club early Sunday, allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after the September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside.

During the hunt for Williams, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 tracked Williams to a nearby home at 612 West Outer Drive, a house that Williams shares with Chelsea Lively, 22. Inside that house, police found hand gun cases and gun magazines in plain view, according to an affidavit that accompanies a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on October 2.

They also found about two ounces of suspected heroin and roughly 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana. [Read more…]

Man wanted in Oak Ridge after shooting, crash arrested in Knox

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

Note: This story was last updated at 1:21 p.m.

A 28-year-old Oak Ridge man wanted after a September shooting and three-car crash was arrested in Knox County on Sunday, authorities said.

Authorities are waiting for Larry Dewayne Williams, 28, to be transported to Anderson County.

“We’re very, very pleased with that,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said of the arrest, “and we eagerly await his transfer to Anderson County to answer the charges.”

The specific charges haven’t been released yet.

In September, the Oak Ridge Police Department said it seized 49.2 grams of suspected heroin in a West Outer Drive house that is the home of Williams and Chelsea Reign Lively, 22.

The ORPD said it found the drugs, which also included about 7.72 ounces of suspected marijuana, during a search after the September 21 shooting, which was on Wakefield Road, and three-car crash about two hours later at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive.

[Read more…]

Police: Forty-nine grams of suspected heroin seized on West Outer after shooting, crash

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Chelsea Reign Lively

Chelsea Reign Lively

Note: This story was last updated at 3:44 p.m.

Police seized 49.2 grams of suspected heroin in a West Outer Drive home during a search after the shooting on Wakefield Road and three-car crash on North Illinois Avenue on Monday, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has also made an arrest in the case. Chelsea Reign Lively, 22, was arrested Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. She was charged with possessing Schedule I (heroin) and Schedule VI (marijuana) drugs for sale.

Authorities said further charges against Lively are expected.

Police said Larry Dewayne Williams was identified as a person of interest in the shooting when he fled from the ORPD shortly after the shooting and allegedly caused a three-car crash at the intersection of North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive.

Officers—including members of the ORPD, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the crime task force, and an ACSD K-9 unit—swarmed the area and searched for Williams. That led officers to a home at 612 West Outer Drive, where they said they executed a search warrant on Tuesday and recovered additional evidence. The house is the home of Lively and Williams, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

“The search warrant commanded that all controlled substances be seized as evidence,” said the warrants, filed by ORPD Detective Kevin Craig.
[Read more…]

Oak Ridge police seek suspect in Monday night shooting, crash

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Larry Dewayne Williams Wanted Poster

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified a person of interest in the shooting on Wakefield Road and crash on North Illinois Avenue on Monday, and they consider the suspect to be armed and dangerous, authorities said.

The person of interest has been described as Larry Dewayne Williams, a black male, 28 years old, and 6’1″ and 165 pounds, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

“Extreme caution should be used if he is observed,” the press release said.

Meanwhile, the Oak Ridge Police Department is taking steps to prevent further shootings on Wakefield Road. There were three in 48 hours, and one arrest has already been made.

“We’re working actively with other agenices to suppress vehicle and pedestrian traffic in areas which cause us concern,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said Tuesday. [Read more…]