Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Man shot in leg while allegedly trying to steal trailer

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Note: This story was updated at 8:55 p.m.

A man was shot in the leg early Tuesday while attempting to steal a utility trailer and rail buggy in Anderson County, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at about 2:19 a.m. Tuesday when two men tried to steal the utility trailer and hook it up to a vehicle on Sulphur Springs Road, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

The property owner told Deputy Randy Seay, that after hearing noises, he and his son went outside and saw a dark vehicle backed up to their utility trailer, which was loaded with a rail buggy. The property owner noticed two people, later identified as Bret Weaver, 40, and Joey Seiber, 27, trying to hook up the trailer to their vehicle, Mayes said in a media release. [Read more…]

Clinton man accused of stealing $2,000 in coins from car wash

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Joshua Steven Brinyark

Joshua Steven Brinyark

 

A Clinton man is accused of breaking into a car wash, stealing $2,000 worth of coins, and exchanging about half the coins for cash at a coin machine, according to court records.

Joshua Steven Brinyark, 30, was seen on a surveillance video breaking a door window and entering an inner office to steal the coins at Pop’s Car Wash on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Brinyark then called a second man, Joshua Allen Bryant, at 7:34 a.m. and asked Bryant to pick him up at a Git’ N Go Market that is also on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, according to the affidavits. Brinyark said he would give Bryant money for the ride, the affidavits said.

“Bryant picked up Brinyark and took him off another road in Clinton near some railroad tracks, where he got out of the vehicle and picked up two buckets filled with coins,” the affidavits said. “Brinyark then asked Bryant to take him to Walmart to cash the coins, and he’d give him money.” [Read more…]

Meth, heroin thrown out car window, patrol cars hit, THP says

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Sixty-three grams of methamphetamine were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during a police chase that started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, authorities said. The vehicle occupants also threw out about one-half gram of heroin, and the car they were in almost hit two Anderson County patrol vehicles head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

That afternoon, THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd tried to stop a black Honda sedan for failure to yield the right of way and a turn signal violation at the intersection of State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) and Longmire Road in Clinton, near the Clinch River and Anderson County Detention Facility, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The 1992 Honda Accord had cut off a red pickup truck at the intersection, Lloyd said.

But the car refused to stop after he activated his emergency equipment, Lloyd said.

While the Honda was traveling down Longmire Road, the car occupants threw two items out the window, according to Lloyd:

  1. a baby formula can that contained a jar with about 63.93 grams of methamphetamine, and
  2. a black metal box that contained a set of scales, 0.53 grams of heroin, and multiple plastic bags.

[Read more…]

Driver, passenger arrested after car allegedly flees from THP, strikes two patrol units

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Two Knoxville residents face charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, among other charges, after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and crashing into state and county patrol cars in Rocky Top on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The initial pursuit by THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd started on State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) at Longmire Road in east Clinton, near the Clinch River, according to a preliminary THP report. It continued onto northbound US 25 W (Lake City Highway), headed toward Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

After passing through Rocky Top, the chase headed north on SR 116 into Campbell County before looping back into Rocky Top, traveling down Cherry Bottom Road and Oak Grove Road before taking US 441 (Norris Freeway) back into the city, according to a narrative in the THP report and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

After the car, a 1992 Honda Accord, passed under Interstate 75, it tried to make a left turn onto Sunshine Drive in Rocky Top, the report said. But it was unable to complete the turn and the car struck a concrete curb, busting its left front tire, the report said. [Read more…]

Claxton couple arrested Sunday after robbery, prostitution investigation

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Richard Paul Pressley

Richard Paul Pressley

A Claxton husband and wife were arrested Sunday after a robbery and prostitution investigation in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road, authorities said.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies were called to meet with a 32-year-old victim who said he had been robbed at gunpoint at a mobile home on Queen Street after replying to a Backpage.com advertisement for escort services, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. The victim told deputies he had met a female at the residence, and after a short time a male entered, brandished a handgun, and robbed him of cash, the press release said.

He was then tied up and left in a bedroom, authorities said. The victim was able to free himself and flee out a window.

Deputies responded and, after an investigation, the two residents of the mobile home, Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 26, and her husband, Richard Paul Pressley, 29, were both charged with several felony offenses related to the robbery as well as prostitution. [Read more…]

Jury in first-degree murder trial could be sequestered up to 2 weeks

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Norman Lee Follis

Norman Lee Follis

CLINTON—The jury in a first-degree murder trial that continues in Clinton on Monday could be sequestered for up to two weeks, a prosecutor said Friday.

That means jurors will be “separate and apart from others” during that time, said Tony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County). Jurors will only be able to communicate with others by using the phone of a law enforcement officer and only under the supervision of an officer.

“You cannot have any contact with the outside world,” Craighead said in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton as prosecutors and defense attorney Mart Cizek questioned potential jurors in the courtroom and dismissed some, often four at a time.

Jurors can’t have cell phones or electronic devices, such as tablets or iPads. They can bring printed books, but not electronic ones. They will be prohibited from reading, hearing, or seeing any news about the trial for Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, who has been charged with first-degree murder, property theft of more than $1,000, and forgery. [Read more…]

Jail records: About two dozen arrests on drug-related charges Thursday

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was last updated at 8:26 a.m.

There were about two dozen arrests on drug-related charges in Anderson County on Thursday, according to jail records, as authorities from several agencies swept through Oak Ridge and possibly other communities in what they’ve described as a multi-county criminal investigation.

The most common charge, by far, is manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance, according to Anderson County jail records. Counts on that charge vary from one to two dozen, according to jail records, with many of those arrested facing in the range of eight to 11 counts.

Other charges listed against a few of those arrested include possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawfully carrying a weapon, possessing drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, property theft, and simple possession.

Most of those arrested are listed as Oak Ridge residents, but there are also residents of Knoxville, Clinton, Kingston, and Madisonville. The defendants range in age from 20-61. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Man caught driving stolen tow truck after burglary, carjacking in Marlow

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John Joseph Pixley II

John Joseph Pixley II

An Oliver Springs man was arrested Friday after he was caught driving a tow truck that he had allegedly stolen after an assault and burglary on Talley Lane in Marlow, authorities said.

John Joseph Pixley II, 27, has been charged with aggravated burglary, burglary, property theft, motor vehicle theft, two counts of aggravated assault, and carjacking, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

In a press release, White said the homeowner had observed a truck on her surveillance cameras, and a suspect, later identified as Pixley, was seen walking around her residence. The owner called the Sheriff’s Communications Center around 8:30 a.m. Friday to report the incident, left work, and drove home. [Read more…]

East Tennessee man charged with rape, assault, false imprisonment

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Robert John Davis

Robert John Davis

An East Tennessee man is accused of raping his ex-girlfriend in a Claxton home, shoving her backward and causing her head to go through a sheetrock wall, pointing a pistol at her and himself, and threatening to burn down her house, authorities said.

Robert John Davis, 34, is accused of using the victim’s debit card without permission to withdraw $200, throwing objects and ransacking her house, and telling her she had to have sex with him if she wanted to have her car keys, according to warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

Davis has been charged with rape, aggravated assault, domestic assault, false imprisonment, property theft, unauthorized use of an auto/joyriding, and violation of an order of protection, the warrants said. Davis, who has addresses listed in Powell and Greenback, remains jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and his bail has been set at $237,500, according to court records. [Read more…]

Two caught carrying stolen items in Marlow burglary, sheriff says

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Marcus Dewayne Bowling

Marcus Dewayne Bowling

Two people were arrested Tuesday evening after a sheriff’s deputy caught them carrying stolen items from a Marlow home where a burglary-in-progress had been reported, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the home on Binkley Acres Lane near Oliver Springs at about 8:42 p.m. Tuesday. The homeowner was contacted by a neighbor who saw a strange car in the driveway, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said. The owner went to the home and saw the vehicle parked at the gate near the entrance to his driveway.

“Upon checking his property, he observed two persons inside the home,” White said. “The homeowner called 911 and deputies responded.” [Read more…]

Sheriff: Two arrested, one with bulletproof vest, after guard chases burglary suspects

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Louis Edward Goodman

Louis Edward Goodman

Two Anderson County men, one wearing a bulletproof vest, were arrested Sunday after a security guard chased two burglary suspects from Southern Coal Co. on Airbase Lane in Briceville, authorities said.

The two men—Louis Edward Goodman, 24, of Oak Ridge, and Christopher Houston Harness, 24, of Briceville—fled into the woods after they were confronted, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said in a Monday morning press release.

Deputies responded to the burglary-in-progress report and located the two suspects after a search, authorities said. Goodman and Harness were taken into custody and charged with several offenses related to the burglary: burglary, felony property theft, and criminal trespassing. Goodman was also charged with the unlawful use of body armor “as he was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the offenses,” Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. Harness was also charged with the possession of burglary tools. [Read more…]

Police chief stops two theft suspects at former fitness center

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

For the second time in a week, Oak Ridge Police James T. Akagi has helped arrest two suspects.

Last week, the chief tackled one of two men who fled from him in a car through Scarboro and then on foot.

This week, Akagi stopped a white van at the former Paragon Athletic Club on Emory Valley Road. In the back of the van, an apparent HVAC unit valued at $11,000 was visible through an open rear hatch, and it appeared to have been cut from the fitness center, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Nathan Stinnett said in affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

[Read more…]