Human remains have been located inside a vehicle pulled from Melton Hill Lake on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. The vehicle belonged to Miriam Ruth Hemphill, who was reported missing in Oak Ridge in July 2005, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. (Submitted photo)
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.
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.”
One person died after a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike at Wisconsin Avenue late Monday afternoon, Oct. 18, 2021. (Submitted photo)
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.
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.
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Carlos Bell
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 charges have been filed against Carlos Lavern Bell, 44, and Michael Dewayne Partin, 56.
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.
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak 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.
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.
Charges against Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 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, left, said Jackson-Garrison had accepted responsibility for the allegations, and he compared Jackson-Garrison’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. (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 supervised probation ended in December 2019.
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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.
An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831
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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!
An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three convenience store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were allegedly robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.
An Oak Ridge man has been charged with three store robberies in December and January. Two of the stores that were robbed were in Oak Ridge, and one was in Claxton. More than $3,000 was reported stolen, and a license plate reader tied the suspect to the Claxton robbery, according to court records. He was arrested after a foot chase after the third alleged robbery.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
A pedestrian with life-threatening injuries was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by a LifeStar medical helicopter after a traffic crash in Oak Ridge at about 4:05 a.m. Monday.
The Oak Ridge Police Department received notification of a crash involving a pedestrian on Monday, June 28, on South Illinois Avenue just north of the intersection of East Tulsa Road, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The roadway was closed for a few hours.
The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.
The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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!
The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.
The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.
The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday approved the purchase of three drones that will help police officers and firefighters battle blazes, find lost people, and respond to calls about people barricaded with weapons.
The seven-member Council had deferred a vote on the drones during its May 10 meeting after members raised questions about privacy, civil liberties, and requests for images or videos inadvertently captured by the drones.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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.
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.Â
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.
