Oak Ridge Today

Police: Man found with suspected meth residue, $29K; charged with money laundering

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James Phillip Chase

James Phillip Chase

Police said they found large vacuum seal bags that contained suspected crystal methamphetamine residue and $29,000 in a pickup truck pulled over for speeding in Oliver Springs on Tuesday.

Also found in the vehicle were tracking numbers, numerous shipping envelopes and rubber bands, addresses, documents related to the sale of controlled substances, deposit slips, and packing tape, said Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Wilson, an investigator with the Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force in Anderson County.

The defendant, James Phillip Chase, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, has been charged with money laundering, simple possession of a Schedule II drug (methamphetamine), and speeding. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Saturday morning. [Read more…]

Sheriff: 25 indicted on drug charges

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Paul White

Paul White

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.

Twenty-five people were indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County Grand Jury in November after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies have been out making arrests on these indictments while also continuing investigations on related drug activity, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday morning press release.

The drug investigations were conducted during the last few months. White said the indictments were for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession of illegal drugs, and those indicted either sold to undercover agents or possessed drugs for resale.

“These indictments primarily include charges resulting from sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana and methamphetamine-related offenses,” White said. [Read more…]

Five arrested after shots fired into Claxton home, marijuana found

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Kevin Scott Garner

Kevin Scott Garner

Five people were arrested early Sunday morning after deputies responded to a report of shots fired into an occupied home in Claxton, authorities said. They said deputies were helped by a series of anonymous 911 calls from a Powell man who was found with the Knoxville man alleged to have been the shooter.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said dispatchers began receiving anonymous 911 calls from a cell phone around 5 a.m. Sunday, reporting a shooting into a residence at 120 East Circle. However, the calls were not coming from the actual residence. Some 30 calls were made over the next several minutes, White said.

Deputies responded to the East Circle home and, when they arrived, spoke with a person on the front porch who initially gave a false name and false information about what happened. Another person was found hiding in the back yard. A third person was inside the residence.

Bullet holes were found in the front of the house. No one was injured. [Read more…]

Nominations being accepted for Anderson County Ally of the Year

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ASAP Logo

Do you know someone who lives, works, does business, or worships in Anderson County who cares for its citizens and is passionate about creating a healthy and productive Anderson County? Then consider nominating them for Anderson County Ally of the Year!

ASAP’s Anderson County Ally of the Year campaign is a fundraising competition during January, coinciding with the Red Ribbon Rivalry among a select group of individuals in the community. While each candidate conducts their own campaign, all candidates are united by one goal: to use their leadership, influence, and communication skills to raise funds to help prevent and reduce substance abuse in Anderson County.

ASAP of Anderson County has made significant reductions in the number of Anderson County students who have used alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, including a 43 percent reduction during the past two years in the number of students who drink alcohol. However, ASAP relies on the generosity of individuals and business to continue these efforts. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Arrest made after indoor marijuana grow, other drugs found

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Nathan Allen Underwood

Nathan Allen Underwood

A Rocky Top man was arrested Tuesday when officers serving a search warrant found marijuana plants in various stages of a grow operation, along with indoor grow equipment such as lights, as well as other drug paraphernalia, authorities said. In addition, mushrooms and suspected prescription narcotics were also found, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

White said investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, along with officers from the Rocky Top Police Department, and the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, served a search warrant at a home on Industrial Park Road in Rocky Top on Tuesday afternoon. The search warrant was the result of a joint drug investigation with these agencies.

Authorities arrested Nathan Allen Underwood, 32, of Rocky Top, and he was charged with several drug and weapons offenses, White said. The charges include manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance; possession of Schedule I drugs; possession of Schedule II drugs; possession of drug paraphernalia; and unlawful possession of a weapon.

The sheriff said charges on two other people are expected, pending more investigation into the case.

Underwood remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Sunday afternoon, and his bond has been set at $35,000.

Seventeen arrested, 26 indicted on drug-related charges, sheriff says

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Paul White

Paul White

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department arrested 17 people on drug-related charges on Monday and Tuesday following drug investigations during the last few months, Sheriff Paul White said Wednesday.

These charges are mostly result from the sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana- and methamphetamine-related offenses, White said. The charges were included in 35 indictments against 26 people returned by an Anderson County Grand Jury in June and July after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit.

White said deputies started making arrests on the indictments and related drug-activity investigations on Monday.

He said those indicted for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession either sold to undercover agents or were in possession of illegal drugs for resale. Of the 26 people indicted, 19 were charged with prescription narcotics offenses, three were charged with cocaine offenses, three were marijuana-related, and one was on methamphetamine charges. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Investigators arrest three, find four pounds of pot, seize two vehicles

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Sheriff Paul White and Wells Road Drug Raid

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White says investigators found about four pounds of marijuana, hash, and suspected prescription narcotics during a drug raid in Claxton on Thursday. Two vehicles and electronic items were seized, and three people were arrested. (Submitted photo)

Investigators found about four pounds of marijuana, hashish, and suspected prescription narcotics during a drug raid in Claxton on Thursday, authorities said. Three people were arrested, and two vehicles were seized.

Investigators also found drug paraphernalia at the home at 105 Wells Road, and they seized electronic items along with items used to process marijuana for resale, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a press release.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit obtained the search warrant for the home after an investigation into illegal drug activity. [Read more…]

UT research finds link between alcohol use, not pot, and domestic violence

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KNOXVILLE—Alcohol use is more likely than marijuana use to lead to violence between partners, according to studies done at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Research among college students found that men under the influence of alcohol are more likely to perpetrate physical, psychological, or sexual aggression against their partners than men under the influence of marijuana. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to be physically and psychologically aggressive under the influence of alcohol, but, unlike men, they were also more likely to be psychologically aggressive under the influence of marijuana.

The research has implications for domestic violence intervention and prevention programs. [Read more…]

Four students found with drugs, hatchet, ski mask, ORPD says

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A 14-year-old male who refused to go to school on Wednesday possessed a tactical load bearing vest, and four students detained Thursday, including one adult student, were found near Oak Ridge High School in a car that contained drugs, a ski mask, and a hatchet, authorities said.

The news comes less than one day after the Oak Ridge Police Department announced it seized a stolen, loaded gun from the car of a student who had allegedly caused a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School and said a knife had been seized from a student during an altercation on a school bus.

In a Thursday morning press release, the ORPD said officers responded to a report of an unruly juvenile at a home on Baypath Drive at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“When officers arrived, they met with the mother and older sibling of a 14 year-old juvenile male who had refused to go to school,” the press release said. “Officers interviewed the juvenile and noted he was in possession of a tactical load bearing vest. Officers ultimately assisted in transporting the juvenile to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room for an evaluation, as well as coordinating with Juvenile Court authorities and referring the incident to DCS for follow-up. No criminal charges were filed. However, the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.” [Read more…]

One pleads, one backs out of deal in 2011 robbery, murder

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Information from WYSH Radio

One man pleaded guilty to reduced charges in an August 2011 robbery that ended with one man being shot dead while his brother—the accused gunman—backed out of a plea deal and will stand trial next year.

On Wednesday, James Brooms, 24, entered a best-interest plea to facilitation to commit second-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. [Read more…]

KPD: Doctor arrested on drug, weapons charges after officers find pipes, pot, pills

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Michael Lapaglia

Michael LaPaglia

Note: This story was last updated at 12:02 p.m.

An East Tennessee doctor with ties to Oak Ridge and Anderson County was arrested Tuesday morning at his Knoxville home on drug and weapons charges after officers allegedly found about 125 marijuana pipes and bongs, more than two pounds of high-grade marijuana, and pills and vials containing liquids commonly used in hospitals, with the medicines ranging from Valium and amphetamine to oxycodone, propofol, and morphine, authorities said.

The Knoxville Police Department arrested Michael A. LaPaglia, 42, after responding to a report of a domestic dispute at a home on Fox Cove Road about 11:46 p.m. Monday, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. When police entered the home, they said they noticed a strong marijuana smell throughout the house. They also saw several Mason jars with marijuana residue as well as bongs, or water pipes used to smoke marijuana, according to a KPD statement. [Read more…]

Drug investigations lead to eight arrests, 17 indictments, sheriff says

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Brandy Danielle Braden

Brandy Danielle Braden

Joshua Travis Crowley

Joshua Travis Crowley

Eight people have been arrested on drug-related charges in Anderson County, including for prescription narcotics offenses and methamphetamine-related charges, after investigations by the Special Operations Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, authorities said.

More arrests are expected because an Anderson County grand jury indicted a total of 17 people on 30 charges after the investigations, Sheriff Paul White said Tuesday. Authorities are also continuing to investigate related drug activity. [Read more…]