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Anderson County man charged with robbing credit union

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Joshua Ryan Hutchins

An Anderson County man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly robbed a credit union in Oak Ridge.

The alleged robbery of Enrichment Federal Credit Union on South Illinois Avenue was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Joshua Ryan Hutchins, 27, was arrested less than seven hours later, just before midnight, by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force.

According to a court affidavit, Hutchins allegedly entered the credit union during the Tuesday evening robbery and presented a note to a teller that said, “This is a Robbery…”

[Read more…]

ORPD, FBI investigating robbery at credit union

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Law enforcement officers are investigating a robbery at Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

The robbery was reported at about 5:24 p.m. Tuesday at the credit union on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. It’s being investigated by the Oak Ridge Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During the alleged robbery, a suspect handed a note to tellers demanding money, a press releases said. No weapon was displayed or threatened, the press release said.

The suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money and is described as a white male in his 30s with brown hair. He was last seen wearing a grey/white ball cap, black face mask, and a grey hooded sweatshirt, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Regions Bank robbery still being investigated

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Regions Bank in Oak Ridge was robbed on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is searching for a suspect.

Law enforcement officers are still investigating the robbery of Regions Bank in June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday.

The robbery of the bank on Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge was reported at about 1:34 p.m. Wednesday, June 19.

A white man handed a note to a teller stating it was a robbery, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in June. The man fled on foot toward Vermont Avenue, according to the ORPD.

[Read more…]

Regions Bank robbed; ORPD searching for suspect

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Regions Bank in Oak Ridge was robbed on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is searching for a suspect.

Regions Bank in Oak Ridge was robbed on Wednesday, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is searching for a suspect.

The bank on Rutgers Avenue was robbed at about 1:34 p.m. Wednesday, the ORPD said. A white man handed a note to a teller stating it was a robbery, police said. The man fled on foot toward Vermont Avenue, according to the ORPD.

The man is described as having a slim build, and he was last seen wearing glasses and a green flannel shirt, blue ball cap (white tag right side), blue jeans, and dark running shoes. There is no vehicle description.

[Read more…]

For members: Man charged with attempted murder of deputy has two homicide convictions

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Charles Edward Mason

CLINTON—The Anderson County man charged with attempted murder after allegedly pointing a gun at a deputy and pulling the trigger twice in April has previously pleaded guilty to homicides in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The first homicide conviction was in Knox County, Kentucky, in 1994. The second was in Anderson County, Tennessee, in 2010. The defendant, Charles Edward Mason, now 51, received a nine-year sentence in the first case and a seven-year sentence in the second. He had been accused of shooting a man with a pistol in the first case, the one in Kentucky, according to Knox County court records. He reportedly stabbed a man in the Anderson County case 15 years later.

When he was charged with attempted murder in Anderson County this year, Mason was on probation in a different case involving drug and driver’s license violations. He had pleaded guilty in January to possessing more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine for resale and driving on a revoked or suspended license. He had received a 10-year sentence, and he had agreed to be declared a habitual motor vehicle offender as well, according to Anderson County court records.

Now, he is facing 24 new charges in Anderson County, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, and three drug charges, among other counts.

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FBI, Clinton PD searching for suspected bank robber

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Clinton Police Department are looking for a man suspected of robbing the Ft. Sill Bank inside the Walmart in Clinton on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Photo courtesy FBI)

Note: This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. May 22.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Clinton Police Department are looking for a man suspected of robbing a bank in Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.

The FBI and CPD said a man robbed the local branch of the Fort Sill National Bank inside the Walmart in Clinton. The man entered the bank at 4:15 p.m. and demanded money, the FBI said.

“Reports say a suspect entered the bank, located inside the Walmart store, and passed a note demanding money,” the CPD said.

[Read more…]

Friday: NBC’s ‘Dateline’ to focus on bank heists by Benanti, Witham

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Matthew Yussman (Photo courtesy Dateline NBC)

A new two-hour “Dateline” on Friday will focus on the bank heists by Michael Benanti and Brian Witham, two men who pleaded guilty to or were convicted of their roles in a violent bank extortion and robbery spree in four states and several cities, including Oak Ridge and Knoxville, NBC News said this week.

Oak Ridge Today covered the case, and the Knoxville News Sentinel had extensive coverage.

Here is the official listing and preview link:

[Read more…]

Man, woman receive sentences of 3-5 years in robbery pleas

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Lindsay Elaine Pressley

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

 

A Powell woman received a five-year sentence and a Knoxville man received a three-year sentence when they pleaded guilty to a robbery in Claxton that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 29, entered her plea agreement in Anderson County Criminal and Circuit Court in Clinton on October 29.

Her co-defendant, Richard Paul Pressley, 32, entered his plea agreement last week, on Tuesday, April 2.

As part of their plea deals, an aggravated robbery charge filed against both Pressleys was reduced to robbery. Their charges of especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon were reduced to kidnapping. And charges of conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping were reduced to conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping. Charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery remained unchanged. All four charges are felony charges.

In each case, the sentences for the individual charges run concurrently, or at the same time.

[Read more…]

Clinton store clerk, accomplice arrested after robbery reported

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Image by Clinton Police Department

Image by Clinton Police Department

 

Clinton Police Department officers arrested a Lee’s Travel Center clerk and another man in connection with the report of an aggravated robbery of the convenience store on February 5, the CPD said in a post published on Facebook.

Reports said Justin Pennington was working at the store at 2233 North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton when a masked man pulled out a knife and told him to open the cash register or he would stab him, the CPD said.

Clinton Police Department Investigator Sergeant Scott Gregory, after reviewing store surveillance and gathering more information, discovered that the masked man, who was identified as Jacob T. Maiden, took money from the cash register and then placed two bags of suspected narcotics on the counter and left the scene, the CPD said. [Read more…]

Exclusive: Two plead guilty in robbery that ends with shooting

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—An Oak Ridge man and woman pleaded guilty on Monday to their roles in a robbery that started as a drug deal set up through social media and ended with a shooting that injured one person.

The plea agreements for the two defendants, Nicole Marie Brewer, 21, and Nicholas Rashad Strickland, 27, were entered in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday. The robbery and shooting were reported on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.

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Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Anderson County man indicted on carjacking, assault charges

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Justin Wade Welch

Justin Wade Welch

 

An Anderson County man who allegedly took two cars by force and tried to take another in Clinton in March 2017 has been indicted on carjacking and assault charges by the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Justin Wade Welch, 31, was charged in an eight-count indictment filed April 3. At the time of the indictment, he had been jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton since March 30, 2017, the date of the alleged incident.

The charges against Welch include three counts of carjacking and one count each of attempted carjacking, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (a vehicle), evading arrest, driving on a suspended or revoked license, and resisting a stop, search, or arrest involving a weapon (a vehicle).

Charges against Welch had been waived to the Grand Jury in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton on September 6.

He pleaded not guilty to the eight indicted charges in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on April 30. [Read more…]

Attempted carjacking charge added in crash that injured officer

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Khristoff Deshawn Lee

Khristoff Deshawn Lee

 

An attempted carjacking charge has been added to the eight charges already filed against a man accused of injuring an Oak Ridge officer when he fled from police and crashed on South Illinois Avenue last week.

After the five-vehicle crash on Wednesday, April 4, Khristoff Deshawn Lee, 24, of Oak Ridge, was charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault by motor vehicle, two felony counts of reckless endangerment, one felony count of aggravated domestic assault, and one misdemeanor count of evading arrest and another misdemeanor count of resisting, stop, halt, and frisk.

The attempted carjacking charge, a Class C felony, was added Friday, April 6, according to Anderson County court records.

An affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge said Lee, who was reported to be a fugitive, tried to force his way into two different vehicles in the Panera Bread parking lot as he fled from police on foot after the April 4 crash. [Read more…]

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