Roane sheriff plays role in indictment, conviction of Chattanooga pain clinic owner

Jack Stockton

Jack Stockton

The Roane County Sheriff’s Department was one of several law enforcement agencies that took part in an investigation that led to the indictment and conviction of the owner of two pain clinics, or “pill mills,” in Chattanooga, authorities said. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were also involved in the investigation that led to the convictions of four people, including Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 60, of Rossville, Georgia, who owned and operated Superior One Pain Clinic and Primary Care Pain Clinic in Chattanooga, federal officials said. Lang was convicted of drug trafficking and financial crimes. [Read more…]

KPD: Doctor arrested on drug, weapons charges after officers find pipes, pot, pills

Michael Lapaglia

Michael LaPaglia

Note: This story was last updated at 12:02 p.m.

An East Tennessee doctor with ties to Oak Ridge and Anderson County was arrested Tuesday morning at his Knoxville home on drug and weapons charges after officers allegedly found about 125 marijuana pipes and bongs, more than two pounds of high-grade marijuana, and pills and vials containing liquids commonly used in hospitals, with the medicines ranging from Valium and amphetamine to oxycodone, propofol, and morphine, authorities said.

The Knoxville Police Department arrested Michael A. LaPaglia, 42, after responding to a report of a domestic dispute at a home on Fox Cove Road about 11:46 p.m. Monday, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. When police entered the home, they said they noticed a strong marijuana smell throughout the house. They also saw several Mason jars with marijuana residue as well as bongs, or water pipes used to smoke marijuana, according to a KPD statement. [Read more…]

Deputies arrest man accused of beating uncle with bat

Joseph Allen Huskey

Joseph Allen Huskey

A Clinton man accused of beating his uncle with a wooden baseball bat on Saturday and stealing his prescription medications, including Xanax and oxycodone, was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.

Joseph Allen Huskey, 30, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said. He is being held in the Anderson County Jail under a $152,500 bond.

Huskey allegedly beat his uncle at the Belmont Lane home they shared, breaking a bone in his right leg and bruising his shins, arms, and hands, according to a Sheriff’s Department incident report. [Read more…]

Robbery suspect allegedly threatened to kill Kmart cashier

Devlin Seth Walker

Devlin Seth Walker

Arrested Friday, the suspect in two recent robberies at the Kmart  pharmacy in Oak Ridge allegedly used misspelled hand-written notes to demand drugs and money and threaten to kill cashiers, authorities said.

In the first robbery, which occurred on Feb. 26, suspect Devlin Seth Walker, 34, of Lancing in Morgan County, allegedly handed a cashier a note that said, “Give me all your money and a bottle of Percoset or I will kill you,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The cashier handed Walker the money from the register and the note, the warrants said. Walker then allegedly walked around the pharmacy counter and threatened the pharmacist. The pharmacist was allegedly forced to open a locked cabinet where the narcotics are stored, and Walker took four bottles of 10mg oxycodone from the cabinet and fled the store, said the warrants, filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Criswell.

[Read more…]

Briceville man beaten, robbed

A Briceville man told Anderson County deputies that two men beat him up and stole his medications as he was walking home from Shop-Rite in Lake City on Tuesday afternoon.

A deputy had reported that the victim, who had bought a pack of cigarettes at Shop-Rite, was found lying next to Briceville Highway at Beech Grove Lane, an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report said.

The 25-year-old victim said the two men pulled up behind him in a black truck, got out and beat him up, and took 60 oxycodone and 30 MS Contin pills, the report said. They also stole a pack of L&M cigarettes and $7 cash, the victim told Deputy Joshua I. Zisman.

The victim told Zisman he did not know the men and did not see them leave. He was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center after the alleged robbery.