Note: This story was last updated at 6:10 p.m.
The shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday was a hoax, and there was never any malicious intent, Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams said in an email to families Tuesday evening.
Two students have been identified as being responsible for the threatening statement.
The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Police Department has determined no weapons were ever involved, but charges are pending.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Police Department identified two juveniles Tuesday in connection to the shooting threat posted on social media that prompted a lockdown at Oak Ridge High School on Monday.
“Both juveniles admitted to making the threat,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. “Throughout the course of the investigation, it has been determined that no weapon was ever involved. Charges are forthcoming.”
The press release did not identify the juveniles or the specific threat. On Monday, the city said it was a shooting threat.
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Police Department will have an increased presence at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday following a lockdown on Monday, Oak Ridge Schools said.
The lockdown came after a shooting threat on social media that school administrators learned about on Monday.
“After learning of this threat, we immediately placed ORHS on a Level 3 lockdown and contacted the Oak Ridge Police Department,” Oak Ridge Schools told families Monday evening. “The ORPD will ‘continue to investigate and keep students safe’ during this situation. As the City of Oak Ridge press release stated, we too ‘appreciate the seamless coordination and efforts between the school system, city, and ORPD as this investigation continues.'”
[Read more…]The Oak Ridge Police Department is still investigating a shooting threat that was made on social media and led to an hours-long lockdown at Oak Ridge High School starting Monday morning.
Monday afternoon, the City of Oak Ridge said students will be released from school at their normal times, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is taking precautions to continue to investigate and keep students safe during dismissal.
“We appreciate the seamless coordination and efforts between the school system, city, and ORPD as this investigation continues,” the city said.
The lockdown was reported at about 11 a.m. Monday after administrators said they were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media.
[Read more…]
Human remains have been located inside a vehicle pulled from Melton Hill Lake on Wednesday. The vehicle belonged to Miriam Ruth Hemphill, who was reported missing in Oak Ridge in July 2005, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
“At this time, Oak Ridge Police Department investigators and the medical examiner’s office are working together to process the vehicle,” a press release said. “The medical examiner’s office is also working to identify the remains. It’s unclear how long it will take to identify them.”
It is not clear whether the remains found in the vehicle are Hemphill’s, the press release said.
[Read more…]Divers found a vehicle in Melton Hill Lake on Wednesday afternoon that has been confirmed to be linked to a missing person case from July 2005, Miriam Ruth Hemphill, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
The ORPD said the car was pulled out of the water Wednesday evening, and the investigation continues.
“There is no confirmation of a body being in the vehicle,” the ORPD said Wednesday evening. “Crews will not be able to access the inside of the vehicle tonight.”
[Read more…]
Steven D. Hinson of Georgia has been identified as the person who died in the Monday afternoon crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike at Wisconsin Avenue.
The Oak Ridge Police Department said the two-vehicle crash remains under investigation and no other details will be released at this time. However, the police department is asking anyone with information that may help investigators to call ORPD at (865) 425-4399. Crime tips can also be submitted online at http://oakridgetn.gov/department/ORPD/Home. Information can be given anonymously, the ORPD said.
[Read more…]One person died after a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike at Wisconsin Avenue late Monday afternoon.
The crash was reported shortly after 4:15 p.m. Monday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately available, and neither was the condition of any other drivers or passengers involved in the crash.
[Read more…]
Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.
Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic
Pro
Temporary
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 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
Two Oak Ridge men have been charged with abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death in Anderson County after a woman’s body was allegedly found covered by blankets in the back seat of a vehicle in east Roane County in February.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.
Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic
Pro
Temporary
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 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
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.
[Read more…]
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.
[Read more…]
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.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.
Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:
Basic
Pro
Temporary
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
We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.
We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.
Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
