Oak Ridge Police Department Archives - Page 37 of 75

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

Posted at 10:56 am April 5, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

No proof that anything illegal occurred between ORHS teacher, student, ORPD says

Posted at 10:03 am April 5, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated an allegation of sexual misconduct between an Oak Ridge High School teacher and a student, but the police investigation has been closed due to a lack of evidence that anything illegal occurred, according to an incident report released Monday.

But the Oak Ridge Schools investigation continues, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

The Oak Ridge High School teacher, who wasn’t named, was suspended from all teaching duties without pay in February pending the investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The allegation stemmed from a note that was reportedly seen by two students in a high school class, the ORPD report said. The note had these words written on it: “you are cute #smoosh,” according to students. The report said the term “smoosh” is commonly used to refer to having sex.

The teacher told investigators that he had written the note, but it was meant for a few other male students as a joke, according to a 16-page incident report released Monday. He said he had not known what “smoosh” meant. He told investigators that he thought it was “smoosh someone’s face or to punch them, but not really.”

“He had a hard time explaining this to us, and we had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say,” Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John Criswell said in the report. “When we asked him now the ‘note’ made it into the hands of his students, he stated that one of the students had written something inappropriate on their paper so he took that paper and replaced it with his.” [Read more…]

Warrants: Woman admits residents made meth in Tusculum Drive apartment

Posted at 10:32 am April 2, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kimberly Hughes Welch

An Oak Ridge woman who lives at an apartment raided by police on Wednesday admitted that she and a man who also lives at the home were using methamphetamine laboratory components, including chemicals and pseudoephedrine powder, to make meth there, authorities said.

Besides the chemicals and pseudoephedrine, officers also found gas generators, hoses, and what they described as bi-layer liquids, according to arrest warrants. Police described those items as meth lab components. They were allegedly found inside Apartment C at 197 Tusculum Drive during a Wednesday evening search, according to the warrants, which were filed by Simon Byrne of the Seventh District Crime Task Force.

Raynell Fountaine Hopson

After she was read her Miranda rights, apartment resident Kimberly Welch, 48, told police that she and Raynell Hopson, 47, who also lives in the apartment, were using the equipment to make meth, Byrne said.

Welch and Hopson have each been charged with the initiation of meth manufacturing, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the manufacture/delivery/sale of Schedule II drugs.

The alleged meth lab was within 1,000 feet of La Petite Academy on Tulsa Road, a drug-free school zone, so there could be a school zone enhancement to the charges, which would be applied at sentencing if Welch or Hopson are convicted, said Russell Barker, director of the Seventh District Crime Task Force. [Read more…]

Authorities find active meth lab on Tusculum Drive; three arrested

Posted at 4:30 pm March 31, 2016
By John Huotari 5 Comments

Tusculum-Drive-Meth-Lab-Bust-March-30-2016-2

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory in a home on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Pictured above are three members of the 7th District Crime Task Force dressed in hazmat suits and using oxygen as they prepare to enter the back of the home. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m.

Authorities found what they described as an active methamphetamine laboratory on Tusculum Drive on Wednesday, and three people were arrested, including two people who live at the home.

The Seventh District Crime Task Force determined the home was an active meth lab at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Director Russell Barker said. The alleged lab was inside a home at 197 Tusculum Drive, Apartment C.

Three members of the Crime Task Force first checked the home wearing hazardous materials suits and breathing oxygen. After they determined it was an active meth lab, they went back in to remove what Barker described as meth lab materials and trash left from cooking meth. Officers also found finished product, Barker said, although he didn’t have information on how much.

Officers collected the meth lab-related materials in front of the home on a blue tarp. Wearing gloves, boots, and sometimes using breathing masks with eye shields, they also placed some items in plastic five-gallon buckets.

A man and woman who live at the house were decontaminated and taken to jail in white Tyvek suits at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Barker said one of them had been inside the home but was coming out when officers arrived. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge woman charged with traffic violations in fatal car-motorcycle crash

Posted at 4:06 pm March 31, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

North-Illinios-Avenue-Crash-Jan-31-2016-1

An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with three traffic violations in the fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue near the Kroger shopping center on January 31. Authorities said the woman, who was driving the car, made an improper left turn from a right-turn-only lane and failed to yield to the motorcyclist, who died. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with three traffic violations in the fatal car-motorcycle crash on North Illinois Avenue near the Kroger shopping center on January 31.

Rufus E. Shephard III, 44, of Oak Ridge, died in the crash.

Noelle L. Patty, 29, is accused of failing to obey a traffic control device before the crash, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. That traffic control device is on an access road that connects the Kroger shopping center to North Illinois Avenue. It indicates a right turn only, but Patty turned left, headed south, from the shopping center access road onto Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Chris Luethge said in the warrants.

That left turn put the Cadillac STS that Patty was driving into the path of northbound traffic on North Illinois Avenue, where a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle driven north by Shephard collided with the Cadillac driven by Patty, Luethge said.

Shepard was launched into the Cadillac and then over it onto the asphalt, where he died, the warrants said. [Read more…]

Authorities ask drivers to follow parking rules at flea market, allow access for emergency vehicles

Posted at 12:20 pm March 27, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Vehicles are parked in front of a “No Parking” sign in the turn lane and fire lane during the flea market at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, March 26, 2016. (Photo courtesy Darryl Kerley)

Authorities are asking drivers to follow the parking rules at the Saturday morning flea markets at Oak Ridge High School. That will allow emergency vehicles to access the parking lot in emergencies, they said.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department were called to Oak Ridge High School again on Saturday morning to correct the parking situation at the Flea Market, which is operated by the school as a fundraiser, a press release said.

“Cars continue to block access for fire and emergency vehicles all around the venue and are interfering with the new traffic signal,” the press release said.

“We have had a reported car fire and an emergency medical situation in the past and could not get to the incident because of where vehicles were parked,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. “I have worked with the school system to correct the situation, and they have taken the appropriate steps to resolve the parking problem. The problem remains that drivers are not following direction of signage and continue to park inappropriately.” [Read more…]

Taco Bell temporarily closed after truck crashes into building

Posted at 4:26 pm March 22, 2016
By John Huotari 9 Comments

A landscaping truck crashed into the Taco Bell on South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, March 22, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Police Department)

Note: This story was updated at 5:48 p.m.

The Taco Bell on South Illinois Avenue is temporarily closed after a landscaping truck crashed into the building on Tuesday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 2:10 p.m. Tuesday at 353 South Illinois Avenue. The Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department both responded.

An Eastwood Landscaping truck crashed into the front of the building, a press release said. The driver of the vehicle was Joshua Tice, 25, of Knoxville. The cause of the crash was determined to be driver error, and no charges are being filed. [Read more…]

Warrants: Man charged with attempted murder threatened to kill fetus, pregnant teen girlfriend

Posted at 2:01 am March 22, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Khristoff Deshawn Lee

The Oak Ridge man who was charged with attempted first-degree murder on March 1 allegedly threatened to kill his pregnant teenage girlfriend and her fetus, and repeatedly punched her in the stomach, head, and back, authorities said.

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

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

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!

Khristoff Deshawn Lee

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

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

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!

East-Tennessee-Avenue-Standoff-March-19-2016

Members of the Oak Ridge Police Department are pictured outside a home on East Tennessee Avenue on Saturday, March 19, 2016.

Note: This story was updated at 10:42 a.m.

A 30-year-old woman was taken into custody and to a hospital after barricading herself in a bedroom and mentioning suicide before throwing a pistol out a window while negotiating with police officers on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was on the scene for hours before the situation at 426 East Tennessee Avenue was peacefully resolved.

Police said they found an arsenal inside the home, including more than a dozen high-powered rifles, shotguns, an assault rifle, a pistol, and several boxes of ammunition.

The ORPD responded to a domestic disturbance call at the home at about 2:04 a.m. Saturday.

“Officers arrived and made contact with a male subject, who advised his girlfriend, who was very intoxicated, had locked herself in the bedroom and was in possession of multiple weapons,” an ORPD press release said. “Officers verified a female subject identified as Sara Flynt, 30, was barricaded in an upstairs bedroom of the residence and initiated negotiations utilizing ORPD Crisis Intervention Team members. [Read more…]