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ORPD: Two arrested after crashing stolen truck

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Two people were arrested after allegedly crashing a stolen pickup truck in Oak Ridge and trying to run from police Monday afternoon, officers said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department tried to stop the pickup truck on South Illinois Avenue at Tulsa Road at about 1 p.m. Monday, a press release said.

“The driver of the pickup truck began to flee, and officers discontinued the attempted traffic stop,” the press release said.

The pickup truck continued driving at a high rate of speed and crashed into a vehicle at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue at South Rutgers Avenue, the press release said. One tire blew out, and the pickup truck continued driving on the remaining three tires toward Edgemoor Road, the release said.

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Police asking for information about arson on Waddell Circle

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Image by Oak Ridge Police Department

The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for tips about an arson on Waddell Circle on Sunday, July 11.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department had responded to a residential fire in a quadplex that evening. (That was the same evening widespread power outages and partial power outages were reported in Oak Ridge.)

The fire on Waddell Circle was later determined to be set intentionally, and ORPD investigators responded to the fire.

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Statutory rape, misconduct charges dismissed against former officer after probation

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Charges against Cassen Jackson-Garrison, standing at right, a former Oak Ridge Police Department police officer, were dismissed this year after two years of supervised probation. Jackson-Garrison had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017. His attorney, Greg Isaacs, standing next to Jackson-Garrison, said Jackson-Garrison had accepted responsibility for the allegations, and he compared his client’s childhood story to the one portrayed in the movie “The Blind Side.” The probation was a judicial diversion, allowing the felony charges to be dismissed if Jackson-Garrison complied with the terms and conditions. Jackson-Garrison and Isaacs are pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, June 12, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

After a two-year probation, charges were dismissed this year against a former Oak Ridge Police Department officer who had agreed to plead guilty to statutory rape and official misconduct in 2017.

His attorney successfully asked for judicial diversion for Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 36, more than three years ago, although the state opposed it. The judicial diversion gave Jackson-Garrison, a former star football player, the opportunity to have the felony charges dismissed and expunged, or removed from his record, at the end of his probationary period. But he had to comply with the terms and conditions. The two-year probation ended in December 2019.

The charges were dismissed in January 2021, after Jackson-Garrison completed the terms of his diversion sentence.

The plea agreement has been previously reported, but the dismissal of the charges has not been. The charges appear to have now been expunged from Jackson-Garrison’s record, at least the portion that is publicly available.

Jackson-Garrison surrendered his P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards Training) certification for police officers as part of his plea agreement, but he will not be placed on the sex offender registry.

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For members: Man charged with three store robberies

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An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.

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An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.

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Appeals court upholds attempted murder conviction

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Curtis-Isabell-McKinley-McGee-Sentencing-Sept-9-2019

McKinnley Earl McGee, of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above at right, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, for an attempted murder during a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment, a judge and prosecutor said. At left is defense attorney Curtis Isabell. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld an attempted murder conviction against an Oak Ridge man who received the maximum 20-year prison sentence for a stabbing that injured a woman so severely that she reportedly would have died if she hadn’t received medical treatment.

McKinnley McGee was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with serious bodily injury two years ago, after a one-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in July 2019. He was convicted of stabbing and trying to kill Machel Elaine Avery on Utica Circle in Oak Ridge on January 12, 2018.

McGee was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison in September that year. That was based in part on his extensive criminal record, which includes at least eight felony convictions and seven misdemeanors dating back 30 years in Anderson County and California, according to court records and information provided during the sentencing hearing.

In his appeal, McGee had questioned whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for attempted second-degree murder. He argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that he acted in a way that was intended and reasonably certain to cause Avery’s death, the appeals court said.

But in an opinion published April 9, the appeals court found that the evidence was sufficient. The opinion has not been previously reported.

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Lewis Ridenour running for Anderson County Circuit Court clerk

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Lewis Ridenour

Lewis Ridenour, an Oak Ridge police officer, is running for Anderson County Circuit Court clerk.

Ridenour is a former chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. He is an Anderson County native who lives in Andersonville with his wife of 25 years, Pam, a press release said.

In the press release, Ridenour said he pledged to bring integrity, public service experience, sound judgement, and knowledge to the office.

Ridenour has served with the Oak Ridge Police Department since 2008, the press release said. His current assignment for the past seven years has been as liaison to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Two taken to hospital after three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road bridge

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Two drivers were taken to a hospital with serious injuries after a three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road bridge on Friday evening.

The crash was reported on State Route 170 at about 8:45 p.m. Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. The bridge crosses the Clinch River near the Bull Run Fossil Plant.

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For members: Three plead guilty, one sentenced to 10 years in drug conspiracy after overdose death

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Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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Pedestrian flown to UT Medical Center with life-threatening injuries after crash

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A pedestrian with life-threatening injuries was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by a LifeStar medical helicopter after a traffic crash in Oak Ridge at about 4:05 a.m. Monday.

The Oak Ridge Police Department received notification of a crash involving a pedestrian on Monday, June 28, on South Illinois Avenue just north of the intersection of East Tulsa Road, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The roadway was closed for a few hours.

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For members: More than 1,300 suspected pills allegedly found during arrest, search

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Including a March 23 arrest and search and arrests on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near this home on Andover Circle in Oak Ridge, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

More than 1,000 pills of suspected controlled substances, three bags of suspected ketamine, pill presses, and unidentified precursor chemicals were found during a search of a home in northeast Oak Ridge last week, according to Anderson County law enforcement officers. Two people who live at the home, a man and a woman, were arrested after the search.

The search by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force on Tuesday followed an arrest near the home on Andover Circle in March, when a Knox County woman was detained on a sidewalk near the home with more than 100 pills and other suspected drugs, according to Oak Ridge police.

Including the arrest in March and search and arrests last week, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near the home, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The controlled substances included suspected stimulants and hallucinogens, and drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and pain.

Here is what officers found at the home on Andover Circle on Tuesday, according to Agent Kenneth C. Woods of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County:

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Including a March 23 arrest and search and arrests on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near this home on Andover Circle in Oak Ridge, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

More than 1,000 pills of suspected controlled substances, three bags of suspected ketamine, pill presses, and unidentified precursor chemicals were found during a search of a home in northeast Oak Ridge last week, according to Anderson County law enforcement officers. Two people who live at the home, a man and a woman, were arrested after the search.

The search by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force on Tuesday followed an arrest near the home on Andover Circle in March, when a Knox County woman was detained on a sidewalk near the home with more than 100 pills and other suspected drugs, according to Oak Ridge police.

Including the arrest in March and search and arrests last week, more than 1,300 pills total of suspected controlled substances were found in or near the home, according to lists that officers included in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The controlled substances included suspected stimulants and hallucinogens, and drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and pain.

Here is what officers found at the home on Andover Circle on Tuesday, according to Agent Kenneth C. Woods of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County:

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For members: Man accused of robbing gas station on Emory Valley Road

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A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.

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A 34-year-old Oak Ridge man has been accused of robbing the store at the Shell gas station on Emory Valley Road in May.

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For members: Council approves purchase of 3 drones for police, fire

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The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.

The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.

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The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.

The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.

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