Oak Ridge Today

Worried about city judge’s reaction, tenant concocted home invasion story after alleged rampage, police say

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An Oak Ridge man who allegedly went on a rampage and broke bedroom windows inside his home concocted a story about a home invasion to try to avoid trouble with his landlord, City Judge Lawrence Tunnell, authorities said.

Derek Scott Fitzpatrick, 26, has been charged with false reporting, a felony. He remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Friday morning.

The alleged home invasion on North Hollywood Circle was reported one week ago at about 1 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1. The Oak Ridge Police Department quickly set up a perimeter in the Highland View neighborhood and searched for the two suspects for about 30 minutes before “finding out the story was made up,” Officer Garrett Robbins said in an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. [Read more…]

Blasting at Kroger Marketplace site continues Monday, Thursday

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Kroger Marketplace Building Construction

Building construction has started at the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center, and blasting at the site is scheduled to continue next week.

Building construction has started at the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center, and blasting at the site is scheduled to continue next week.

The blasting started this week in short sessions that lasted a few minutes each on Monday and Thursday afternoons.

The blasting is expected to continue next week at 2 p.m. Monday and Thursday, a city press release said. [Read more…]

Blasting scheduled Monday, Thursday at Kroger construction site

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Kroger Marketplace Site Work

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday and Thursday afternoon. Pictured above is site work that started this summer.

Blasting is scheduled at the Kroger Marketplace construction site at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 10. Oak Ridge Police Department officers will stop traffic on Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike during the blasting, which is scheduled to last about three to five minutes, a press release said.

Illinois Avenue traffic will be blocked from Robertsville Road to Oak Ridge Turnpike, and the Turnpike will be blocked from the Illinois Avenue/Turnpike intersection east to Robertsville Road, the release said.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley will send two advisement/informational calls to the businesses and residents in the area on Saturday, Oct. 5, and Tuesday, Oct. 8, the press release said. For more information, visit the city’s website at www.oakridgetn.gov.

Police search finds missing Clinton man at Clark Center Park

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Note: This story was updated at 11:47 p.m.

A police search on Monday evening located a missing 79-year-old Clinton man whose personal items including keys and identification, as well as a small amount of blood, had been found at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The man, whom police have not identified, was found lying off an embankment near the edge of the roadway about 200 yards from where his personal property had been found on Bull Bluff Road, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a Monday evening statement. He was partially clothed and disoriented due to an unknown medical condition.

The man was transported by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville to be treated for a head injury, the ORPD said in the statement from Lt. Robin Smith. [Read more…]

Man breaks into car of police chief’s wife, arrested

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Information from WYSH Radio

A 20-year-old man remains behind bars after he allegedly broke into the wrong car Friday night in Oak Ridge.

Late Friday night, Oak Ridge Police Department Chief James Akagi was at home when he heard his dog barking and went to investigate. He found several items from his wife’s unlocked car in his driveway and spotted an unfamiliar vehicle parked nearby. [Read more…]

Police: Two bicyclists injured after running stop signs, hitting vehicles

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Two bicyclists, including a child, collided with vehicles after running stop signs in two separate incidents this weekend, and one of the riders was flown by medical helicopter to a Knoxville hospital, authorities said.

The first collision occurred at about 5 p.m. Saturday when Thomas M. Trosper, 44, of Oak Ridge, ran a stop sign on Latimer Road and struck the right front side of a 1995 Dodge van driven westbound on North Jefferson Circle, a crash report said. [Read more…]

Vehicle strikes two cars, house before fleeing, police say

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An unknown driver in an unknown vehicle hit two parked cars on Outer Drive early Saturday morning, sideswiped a tree, and struck a house before fleeing, authorities said.

The crash at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday just east of Florida Avenue damaged the foundation of a home at 97 Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Daniel Freytag said in a report. [Read more…]

ORPD identifies motorcyclist who died in fiery Highway 95 crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the motorcyclist who died in a fiery three-vehicle crash on Highway 95 on Sunday.

Jeffrey Floyd, 23, of Clinton, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle driven by Patricia Scofield, 57, of Louisville at about 5 p.m. Sunday, the ORPD said in a press release. Both vehicles were almost completely engulfed in flames when officers arrived. [Read more…]

One killed in crash involving car, two motorcycles on Highway 95

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One person was killed in a collision involving a car and two motorcycles on Highway 95 early Sunday evening, authorities said.

The fatal crash occurred about one-half mile south of Bethel Valley Road, west of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the names of the people involved, and the descriptions of their vehicles, will not be released until notifications have been made. The ORPD is currently investigating the incident, a statement said.

Local agencies receive more than $350K in highway safety funds

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Tennessee officials last week announced $21.1 million in grants to Tennessee agencies to support highway traffic safety efforts, with more than $350,000 designated for local law enforcement agencies.

The grants include about $180,000 to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office for driving-under-the-influence abatement and prosecution, and roughly $40,000 to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for reducing fatalities in the county. The Oak Ridge Police Department received about $25,000 for alcohol saturation and checkpoints. [Read more…]

More than 1,200 runners, walkers expected in Neon Vibe 5K this weekend

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Neon Vibe 5K Oak Ridge

A Neon Vibe 5K will be held in Oak Ridge on Sept. 21. (Photo courtesy Neon Vibe 5K)

Runners and walkers will “light up the night” in Oak Ridge on Saturday, as the state’s first Neon Vibe 5K makes its way to the Secret City. Race organizers are expecting large crowds with more than 1,200 participants already registered and more expected to sign up later this week and on race day.

The road race begins at 8 p.m. near the Pavilion inside A.K. Bissell Park. Participants and spectators should plan to arrive early, at least an hour before the race, and allow ample time to find parking prior to road closures occurring around the race site.

Parking for participants and spectators is available at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the Oak Ridge Municipal Building, Oak Ridge High School, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau at the Midtown Community Center, and the back parking lot of Oak Ridge Associated Universities. [Read more…]

Traffic stop leads to $8,000 in cash, suspected painkillers, police say

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Jennifer Leean Marlowe

Jennifer Leean Marlowe

James Phillip Chase

James Phillip Chase

Oak Ridge police allegedly found $8,000 in cash and an estimated $4,000 worth of suspected Roxicodone during a traffic stop last week for possible license plate and window tint violations.

A Wartburg couple, James P. Chase, 51, and Jennifer L. Marlowe, 26, were arrested and charged with possession for sale of a controlled substance.

Police said they pulled over a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck driven by Chase on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Fairbanks Road on Friday afternoon because its tinted license plate cover violated state law and city ordinances, and the window tint appeared darker than allowed. [Read more…]