Oak Ridge Today

After several hours of negotiating, man threatening suicide gives up gun

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Crisis Negotiations on Robertsville Road

A man who had threatened to commit suicide with a gun at a home on Robertsville Road gave up his gun after several hours of negotiations on Thursday night, authorities said. (Photo by Oak Ridge Police Department)

 

A man who had threatened to commit suicide with a gun at a home on Robertsville Road gave up his weapon after several hours of negotiations on Thursday night, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department received the call at about 8:42 p.m. Thursday, a press release said.

“As tactical officers stood by, an ORPD crisis negotiator spent several hours persuading him to come outside to speak with officers,” the release said. “When the man came outside, he insisted he had no intention of harming himself, and voluntarily handed a firearm over to them for safekeeping. After officers verified his wellbeing, he was allowed to return to his home.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Two suspects arrested after shot fired at McKenzie Acres Apartments

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Elijah McDowell

Elijah McDowell

Two people were arrested after a gunshot was fired at the McKenzie Acres apartment complex on Utica Circle on Monday, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of someone discharging a firearm at McKenzie Acres at about 5:42 p.m. Monday, July 27, a press release said.

“Officers learned that at least one shot had been fired,” the release said.

It said police were able to locate two people who were allegedly involved in the incident a short time later. [Read more…]

Bond reduced for Cromwell, driver in fatal parking lot crash

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Derek Setzer and Lee Cromwell

Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, right, is escorted through Anderson County General Sessions Court on Tuesday by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Derek Setzer. Cromwell has been charged with homicide and aggravated assault, among other charges, after a fatal parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. July 30.

Bond was reduced to $100,000 on Tuesday for an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 people in a parking lot crash after July 4 fireworks.

There were concerns about whether Lee Cromwell, 65, considers himself a “sovereign citizen” and denies governmental authority, and Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller reported that Cromwell was somewhat defiant at his arraignment.

Still, Miller lowered bond for Cromwell from about $205,500 to $100,000, more than cutting it in half.

Cromwell was released Tuesday evening. He is prohibited from contacting the victims. [Read more…]

ORPD: No evidence found of shots fired at Kareday Terrace

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The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of shots fired at apartments on Wilberforce Avenue on Wednesday, but officers found no evidence that shots had been fired, authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday at Building A of the Kareday Terrace Apartments at 99 Wilberforce Avenue, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

“Multiple officers arrived on scene within two minutes of being dispatched and diverted traffic away from the scene,” the press release said. “Additional officers arrived and established a perimeter around Building A, while also contacting the person who called the Dispatch Center earlier and claimed to be a victim of the shooting.” [Read more…]

Driver of pickup truck that killed one, injured nine charged with homicide

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Lee Cromwell

Lee Cromwell

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck that backed through the parking lot at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks, killing one and injuring nine, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Lee Cromwell, 65, was arrested at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Police Department without incident by patrol officers, authorities said.

Cromwell’s truck allegedly hit James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, killing him, the ORPD said after the crash.

Cromwell has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of reckless homicide, 12 counts of aggravated assault, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of driving with a license that is suspended or revoked, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]

Three taken to hospital after two-vehicle crash on Turnpike

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Oak Ridge Turnpike Crash on Science.Gov Way on July 19, 2015

Three people were taken to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike at Athens Road on Sunday afternoon, July 19, 2015, authorities said.

 

Three people were taken to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike at Athens Road on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Two of the three were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and the other was taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The crash, which briefly closed the eastbound lanes of the Turnpike, was reported in east Oak Ridge at about 4:09 p.m. Sunday. It occurred on the stretch of the Turnpike that runs between Milt Dickens Park on the north side of the four-lane roadway and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information on the south. [Read more…]

ACSD enhances security after Chattanooga shooting

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Anderson County Sheriff Patch

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department sent deputies to provide security at the National Guard Armory in Clinton and to the area around the Tennessee Valley Authority facilities at Norris Dam and Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton after officials learned of the fatal shootings at military centers in Chattanooga on Thursday.

Additional deputies were also sent to the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton and to county government buildings, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

He said the Tennessee Highway Patrol notified the ACSD on Thursday morning, July 16, about the unfolding events in Chattanooga.

“We informed all of our local police departments of this information,” Lucas said. “Our dispatch was also in contact with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency State Emergency Operations Center in Nashville.” [Read more…]

Three escape with no injuries from Waddell Circle fire

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Waddell Circle Fire

Three people escaped without injury from a fire in a quadplex on Waddell Circle early Monday morning.

 

Three people escaped without injury from a fire in a quadplex on Waddell Circle early Monday morning.

The fire was reported at 151 Waddell Circle at about 2:35 a.m. Monday.

Firefighters appeared to have most of the flames extinguished relatively quickly, before 3 a.m., although smoke continued to billow out both ends of the white, two-story building.

The Red Cross was on its way to help the three residents, who escaped from two units at the quadplex. Power was disconnected at the quadplex after the fire. [Read more…]

Police: Remains of suspected meth lab found during search of home

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Arthur Wilson Jr.

Arthur Wilson Jr.

Julia Wilson

Julia Wilson

The remains of a suspected methamphetamine laboratory were found during a search of a home on West Wadsworth Circle on Wednesday, authorities said.

Items found in a trash can in the basement of the home included coffee filters, a Coleman brand camp fuel can, lithium batteries that had been cut open, and lithium strips that appeared to have been chemically reacted, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Thomas said in arrest warrants. He said other items included a sports drink bottle with a two-part liquid, a soda bottle with a white powdery substance and holes that appeared to have been burned through the bottle from a chemical reaction inside, and two empty boxes of Claritin-D medicine that originally each contained 2.4 grams of pseudoephedrine.

The two defendants, Arthur Wilson Jr., 50, and Julia Wilson, 49, are on probation for convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine in Morgan County, the warrants said. The two are under the supervision of the Tennessee Department of Correction, and one of the conditions of probation is that the home can be searched, Thomas said. [Read more…]

Armed robbery reported at Walgreens on Friday morning

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Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

An armed robbery was reported at Walgreens Pharmacy on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 6:32 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Several Oak Ridge Police Department officers, including a K9 unit, arrived on scene within minutes and immediately started searching for the suspect, who had fled the business on foot with a small amount of cash, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. The suspect was described as a white male in dark clothing and baseball cap who indicated he was armed.

The suspect was not located, and the investigation is still ongoing at this time, the press release said. [Read more…]

Two arrested in Atlanta area for check cashing robbery in Oak Ridge

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Arvenzio Clyde Miles and Kianna Denis Hall

Arvenzio Clyde Miles, left, and Kianna Denis Hall (Photos courtesy Liz Artz/WSB-TV Atlanta)

Note: This story was last updated at 7:25 p.m.

Two suspects in an armed robbery at a check cashing store in Oak Ridge in June were arrested in the Atlanta area on Wednesday, authorities said.

The suspects have been identified as Kianna D. Hill, 21, of East Point, Georgia, and Arvenzio Clyde Miles, 22, of Riverdale, Georgia.

The robbery at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue was reported at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26. The store was allegedly robbed by two suspects armed with handguns, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Several Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives arrived on scene within minutes, and they immediately started searching for two suspects, who were described as an African American male and African American female who had fled the business on foot, the press release said.

Officers canvassed the area, and a section of North Purdue Avenue was temporarily closed while police set up a perimeter around three apartment buildings where the suspects were believed to have fled. No suspects were located, and detectives continued to follow investigative leads to identify the suspects, the release said. [Read more…]

City releases IDs in parking lot crash that killed one, injured nine

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Midtown Community Crash Cars

One person died and nine people were injured when a Dodge Ram pickup truck backing up in the parking lot at Midtown Community Center caused a nine-vehicle crash after fireworks in Oak Ridge on Saturday night.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:17 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, as the man who died in the parking lot crash that killed one person and injured nine others at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on Saturday.

Robinson was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Lee Cromwell, 65, of Oak Ridge, as Cromwell backed his truck through the parking lot, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Nine people were injured, and eight vehicles were hit by Cromwell’s truck, authorities said.

Robinson was critically injured in the crash, and he was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, where he later died, the press release said.

A family friend said Robinson, who was with his wife and two daughters, died a hero by pushing his oldest daughter Jaide out of the way of the way of the approaching vehicle.

Seven more patients were taken by ambulance from the scene to local area hospitals. One adult and two juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Four juvenile patients with non-life threatening injuries were taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, which is also in Knoxville. And two adults who were also injured were transported to Methodist Medical Center in personal vehicles.

Cromwell was not injured. [Read more…]