Oak Ridge Today

AC man allegedly assaulted at jail files $1 million federal lawsuit

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U.S. District Court in Knoxville

The U.S. District Court in Knoxville is pictured above. (Photo by U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee)

An Anderson County man who was allegedly assaulted while an inmate at the county jail in October 2014 has filed a $1 million federal civil rights lawsuit against a former jailer and other parties, and a jury trial has been scheduled for June 20, 2017, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Before the lawsuit was filed, the former jailer, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Dustin McCoig, was indicted on a misdemeanor assault charge by the Anderson County Grand Jury. He was indicted in March 2015.

McCoig is named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, which was filed October 21, 2015, along with three other former Sheriff’s Department employees: Homer Bullman, Jason Wills, and Amber Stocks. Also named as defendants are Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Anderson County.

There is a separate case pending in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court, where a jury trial on the assault charge against McCoig has been scheduled for April 13, 2016. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department launching ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ crackdown

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Drive Sober

Submitted

To help save lives this holiday season, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is launching a special “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown to stop impaired drivers and to save lives on our roadways. Sheriff’s deputies will be aggressively looking for drunk and impaired drivers.

“Many families will be out during this holiday season, enjoying themselves and the holiday festivities. We want everyone to be safe on our roadways,” Sheriff Paul White said. “This is why we will be increasing enforcement to arrest impaired drivers. If you are caught drinking and driving impaired, you will be arrested. No warnings. No excuses.”

There are three simple steps people can take to stay safe and out of trouble: [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department offers holiday crime prevention tips

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Paul White

Paul White

Submitted by Anderson County Sheriff Paul White

During the busy holiday season, many people can become victims of burglary, theft, and other crime. Protecting yourself and your home from crime is the easiest way to have a safe and happy holiday season.

In an effort to ensure everyone has safe and fun holidays, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department would like to offer the following tips for holiday crime prevention.

Shopping

  • Park in lighted areas at night.
  • Always lock your car.
  • Don’t try to cover items on your seats. Put shopping bags in your trunk or take your packages straight home after shopping and then go back out.
  • Don’t carry large amounts of cash with you, or else, keep it in your front pocket—not in your purse or wallet.
  • Be extra careful when carrying a purse—they are the prime targets of criminals in crowded shopping areas. If you must carry one, make sure it has a strap that can go over the shoulder and be held under the arm, making them more difficult for purse snatchers to grab.
  • Keep a record of all of your debit and credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
  • Beware of strangers approaching you. This is the time of year when thieves may try various methods to distract you with the intention of taking your money or belongings.

[Read more…]

No one injured, black bear chased away after three hours at ACHS

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Black Bear at Anderson County High School on Oct. 6, 2015

No one was injured, and a black bear was chased away with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds after it spent three hours at Anderson County High School, mostly eating acorns, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:40 a.m.

CLINTON—No one was injured, and a black bear was chased away with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds after it spent three hours at Anderson County High School, mostly eating acorns, on Tuesday.

The bear was first seen at about 3:55 p.m. Tuesday on the east side of a parking lot on the east side of the high school campus.

ACHS Assistant Principal Ben Downs, Principal Andrea Russell, and a school resource officer were involved in a student issue in the parking lot, when Downs looked over his left shoulder and saw the bear.

“There it was coming out of the woods,” Downs said. [Read more…]

Third shooting on Wakefield Road in 48 hours, followed by car crash, fleeing driver

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Car Crash at Hilltop and West Outer Drive

Police say the driver of this silver Infiniti fled on foot after a three-car crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive on Monday night, just a few hours after a shooting was reported a short distance away on Wakefield Road, the third shooting there in 48 hours. Police have since described the driver as a person of interest in the Monday night shooting and crash. Pictured above at center are ORPD officers James Elkins and Garrett Robbins. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:35 p.m.

A shooting was reported on Wakefield Road on Monday evening, the third shooting on the street in 48 hours. The shooting was followed a few hours later by a three-car crash at the intersection of West Outer Drive and North Illinois Avenue. Police couldn’t immediately say if the two events were connected.

There didn’t appear to be any injuries in the shooting, which occurred sometime between about 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. and left some 21 casings in the street. Residents in one Wakefield Road home said two bullets pierced a bedroom, but fortunately, no one was in it at the time.

Authorities said minor injuries were reported in the crash, which was reported at about 10:15 p.m. near the Ian’s Market gas station and convience store. One person reportedly fled from the crash, and one witness said the man darted into a wooded area behind the east corner of Ian’s Market, headed north toward Oliver Springs.

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department swarmed the area. An ACSD canine unit responded to help search for the person of interest, but as of early Tuesday morning, officers hadn’t found the man. [Read more…]

Chief Deputy Lucas to speak to Democratic Women’s Club on Aug. 24

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Mark Lucas

Mark Lucas

Chief Deputy Mark Lucas of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be the guest speaker when the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meets Monday, August 24. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Shoney’s Restaurant at 2405 North Charles Seivers Boulevard in Clinton.

Lucas, who has been in law enforcement for 37 years, will discuss “Duties and Responsibilities of the Office of Sheriff,” a press release said.

He has served as chief deputy for 21 years with three sheriffs, and he is now second in command to Sheriff Paul White. He began his law enforcement career in 1978 as a reserve deputy with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, joining the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department in 1979. He attended Basic Police School in 1980 and served as a patrol deputy and sergeant. [Read more…]

Independence Day: ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’

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Independence Day is one of America’s favorite holidays. And why not? Families and friends gather to celebrate our country with food, parades, parties, picnics, and fireworks.

For many, the celebration includes alcohol, but the holiday quickly goes from festive to fatal when people choose to drive after drinking, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a press release. From 2009 through 2013, nearly 40 percent of all traffic fatalities over the Fourth of July period occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.

To crack down on drunk driving this Independence Day weekend, Anderson County law enforcement will be out in full force, aggressively targeting those who put lives in danger, the press release said. Sheriff’s deputies will be out working to make our roadways safe. [Read more…]

ACSD participating in Click It or Ticket this weekend

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Click It or Ticket Day and Night

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will take part in the Click It or Ticket—National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization by conducting saturation patrols during this Memorial Day holiday period, a press release said.

As part of the enforcement, a sobriety checkpoint was held Friday evening, May 22, on Tri-County Boulevard in Oliver Springs. It was to be a multi-agency effort sponsored by the Oliver Springs Police Department and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, the press release said.

The Click It or Ticket—National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization runs through May 31. [Read more…]

Prom and graduation reminders from the Sheriff’s Department

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Paul White

Paul White

By Sheriff Paul White

Proms and graduations are traditions for our young students and the community. These times celebrate achievements, reflect on the past, and take the first steps into adulthood. Unfortunately, some teenagers believe the deadly mix of alcohol and driving is also a part of this tradition. Too many are injured or killed after the prom or graduation.

Our students headed to the prom and from graduations are reminded not to drink and drive. Deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force on prom nights and after graduations. Driving under the influence (DUI), illegal drugs, and underage drinking will get you a ride to jail.

The Sheriff’s Department also reminds teens that getting caught drinking while under the age of 21 can result in losing your driver’s license, getting suspended from school, ejected from sports teams, and even banned from graduation ceremonies. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Two arrested on child sexual abuse offenses

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Gerald Wayne Condon

Gerald Wayne Condon

Two East Tennessee men have been arrested in separate, unrelated cases of child sexual abuse after indictments by the Anderson County Grand Jury, authorities said Wednesday.

Gerald Wayne Condon, 44, of Maryville, and Roger Dale Lindsay, 50, of Clinton, were charged after two investigations by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigations Unit.

Condon was indicted on 25 counts of child sexual abuse offenses on one underage victim that occurred during the last four years, Sheriff Paul White said in a press release. Condon was arrested on Tuesday, March 10, and has been released after posting $100,000 bond. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Two arrested on child pornography charges

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Mario Luis Castilla

Mario Luis Castilla

Two Anderson County men have been arrested in unrelated child pornography cases, authorities said.

Mario Luis Castilla, 29, of Offutt Spur Road in Rocky Top, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on three counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and arrested January 8, Sheriff Paul White said.

Jeremy Keegan Cosgrove, 30, of Jersey Lane in Oak Ridge, was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and arrested January 31, White said. [Read more…]

Sheriff: 25 indicted on drug charges

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Paul White

Paul White

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.

Twenty-five people were indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County Grand Jury in November after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies have been out making arrests on these indictments while also continuing investigations on related drug activity, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday morning press release.

The drug investigations were conducted during the last few months. White said the indictments were for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession of illegal drugs, and those indicted either sold to undercover agents or possessed drugs for resale.

“These indictments primarily include charges resulting from sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana and methamphetamine-related offenses,” White said. [Read more…]