Oak Ridge Today

Man wanted in Ohio hides in Oak Ridge church, but K-9 finds him

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Casey J. Jones

A man who was wanted by law enforcement officers in Ohio fled and hid in an Oak Ridge church after a traffic stop Sunday morning, but an Anderson County K-9 unit found him hiding in a bathroom closet after a two-hour search, authorities said.

The pursuit began after the Oak Ridge Police Department stopped a vehicle on South Tulane Avenue at Wilson Street for a window tint violation at about 10:37 a.m. Sunday, April 11, the City of Oak Ridge said Monday.

After the initial contact with the driver, the driver fled from his vehicle on foot toward the First United Methodist Church at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the city said.

A police officer chased the suspect on foot and saw him enter the church, the city said.

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Man pursued by police runs into church, taken into custody

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A man pursued by police ran into First United Methodist Church between services in Oak Ridge on Sunday morning, canceling services, according to witnesses and the church. The man was later caught, and no one was injured, the church reported.

There were reports of a large police presence at the church, including Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, and the building was reportedly evacuated.

The man ran in as churchgoers were leaving the 10 a.m. service. The 11 a.m. service and Worship on the Lawn at 1 p.m. were both canceled as the building was still being searched and cleared, the church said.

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Boy hit by vehicle near JMS

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A 10-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle near Jefferson Middle School on Thursday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The collision was reported at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday, April 1, on Fairbanks Road north of Dayton Road near Jefferson Middle School.

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Key Springs Road temporarily closed due to jackknifed truck

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Key Springs Road, which connects north Oak Ridge to Marlow, was closed Monday afternoon, April 5, 2021, because of a jackknifed tractor-trailer. (Photo by Oak Ridge Police Department)

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. April 6.

Key Springs Road was closed due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Monday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Key Springs Road is a steep, curvy road with switchbacks that connects north Oak Ridge to Marlow.

It wasn’t clear how long the road will be closed. (Update: At about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday, the ORPD said the roadway had re-opened.)

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Nine men arrested in undercover human trafficking operation

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Pictured above are, from left in top row, Alex Hickey, Darron C. Hickman, Jeremy Williams, Jose W. Salguero, and Joshua Wilson, and from left in bottom row, Joshua Winningham, Juan Gomez, Michael Houck, and Michael J. Slover. (Photos by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Nine men, including at least five who met with undercover agents posing as juveniles, were arrested on trafficking, sex, and prostitution charges in Oak Ridge on Thursday during a two-day covert operation targeted at human trafficking in East Tennessee.

As part of the operation, law enforcement officers said they placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases.

Oak Ridge man dies in motorcycle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike

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A 66-year-old man died Thursday after police said he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed on Oak Ridge Turnpike, according to the city.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the crash, which was in front of Oak Ridge High School, at about 6:13 p.m. Thursday. The initial investigation shows that James Lynch lost control of the motorcycle, which then slid on its side for about 50 feet before hitting the back of a small van, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Lynch later died at Methodist Medical Center.

Witnesses told investigators the sun was in Lynch’s eyes. Investigators also believe speed was a factor, the press release said. No use of drugs or alcohol are suspected.

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DA: No charges will be filed in fatal police shooting

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No criminal charges will be filed against three Oak Ridge Police Department officers after a fatal shooting on Briar Road in August, the county’s top prosecutor said Monday.

Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark released his report about the police shooting on Monday morning.

The report said that the man who died in the shooting, Fred J. Arcera, 25, was a U.S. Army veteran who had mental health problems and was reported to be suicidal—telling officers to kill him—and he had large butcher knives and had threatened officers, moving toward them with the knives that Saturday night.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the shooting, which is common after law enforcement officers fatally shoot someone.

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Part of South Illinois Ave. remains closed

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A large high-voltage transmission tower was knocked down in a single-vehicle crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, causing widespread power outages. Repairs are being made. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The section of South Illinois Avenue between Bethel Valley Road and Lafayette Drive remains closed after a crash knocked over a high-voltage transmission tower on Friday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Police Department said Saturday morning.

The ORPD posted a roadway update at 10 a.m. Saturday. Officers advised drivers to seek alternate routes and expect delays.

Police expect the road to remain closed throughout the evening. Both northbound and southbound lanes are blocked.

Here are detour routes:

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Oak Ridge man charged with second robbery

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Tyrone Partridge

An Oak Ridge man has been charged with a second robbery, this one of a gas station in Claxton.

Partridge, 43, had already been charged by the Oak Ridge Police Department this month with the robbery of J&C Market on East Tennessee Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Now, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft in the December 29 robbery of the Marathon gas station on Edgemoor Road in Claxton, a press release said. The felony warrants were obtained by Sheriff’s Office detective Josh Cardwell. Partridge reportedly brandished a firearm and demanded the Marathon employee empty the cash register, the press release said. He fled the scene with cash before deputies arrived, the release said. The Marathon employee was able to provide a physical description and a video recording showing the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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Oak Ridge man arrested after alleged store robbery

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An Oak Ridge man was arrested Sunday night after allegedly robbing the J & C Market on East Tennessee Avenue, police said.

Tyrone N. Partridge, 43, reportedly displayed a handgun and demanded the contents of the register at the market at around 9 p.m. Sunday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. An initial investigation showed that, during the robbery, Partridge pushed the clerk to the ground and fled the store on foot, police said.

Oak Ridge Police Department officers interviewed the clerk and canvassed the neighborhood before receiving a tip from a citizen about a suspicious vehicle nearby, the press release said. A man matching the description of the robbery suspect, later identified as Partridge, was contacted inside and then fled on foot, the press release said.

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Rocky Top man indicted for Oak Ridge bank robbery

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A bank robbery was reported at One Bank in Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

A Rocky Top man has been indicted for allegedly robbing One Bank in Oak Ridge in October.

Warren Calvin Lavender, 31, was charged in a one-count indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Greenville, Tennessee, on November 18.

Lavender entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment on December 3, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Lavender will remain in custody pending trial, which has been set for December 28 in front of United States District Court Judge Travis McDonough, the press release said.

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Charges pending after head-on crash on South Illinois

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Charges are pending against one driver after a head-on crash on South Illinois Avenue early Sunday caused one vehicle to start on fire and pinned a driver in a second vehicle, Oak Ridge police said.

The crash occurred on South Illinois Avenue at about 1:35 a.m. Sunday, when the Oak Ridge Police Department received a report of a vehicle traveling the wrong way. The vehicle was described as a silver sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound lanes. 

When they arrived, police officers found a head-on traffic crash in the southbound lanes of State Route 62, South Illinois Avenue, near Centrifuge Way. It involved the same vehicle (a silver 2016 Subaru) and a 2007 Toyota, the ORPD said.

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