Oak Ridge Today

Two charged in alleged robbery that started with car sale

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Michael Sharp

Michael Rodney Sharp

 

Two people have been charged in an alleged robbery that started with a car sale, court records said.

The robbery was reported to have occurred on Bolin Road on the west side of Rocky Top on Thursday, February 22.

The two people charged with aggravated robbery in the case are Michael Rodney Sharp, 50, and Stephanie Jean Hoskins, 29, who both live on Bolin Road, according to Anderson County jail records.

The victim reported going to Bolin Road to buy a car from Sharp, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Gregory Stanley.

While she was talking to Sharp, the victim said, Hoskins hit her in the back of the head with a stick, knocking her unconscious, according to the affidavits. The victim said she was unconscious for about five minutes. [Read more…]

Claxton woman indicted in alleged backpage.com robbery

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Lindsay Elaine Pressley

Lindsay Elaine Pressley

 

A Claxton woman has been indicted in an alleged robbery at gunpoint in Claxton in 2016 that authorities said started with an advertisement for escort services posted on backpage.com.

Lindsay Elaine Pressley, 27, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on November 7. She was arrested Thursday and remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility on Saturday night, with her bond set at $100,000.

The grand jury indicted Pressley on four charges: aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping.

In July, the grand jury indicted a Knoxville man, Richard Norman Pressley, 31, in the case. He was also charged with aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping using a weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping. The Pressleys had been identified as husband and wife in a press release from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department after the alleged robbery and kidnapping in a mobile home on Queen Street in Ben’s Mobile Home Park off Edgemoor Road in Claxton on May 21, 2016. [Read more…]

Kidnapping, assault charges sent to grand jury in Hibachi Burger robbery

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Dominique Leshawn Gordon

Dominique Leshawn Gordon

 

Sixteen assault and kidnapping charges in a robbery reported at gunpoint at Hibachi Burger in Oak Ridge in January were sent to a grand jury on Tuesday.

An aggravated robbery charge was dismissed due to a technical issue with a warrant, but that charge is expected to also be considered by the Anderson County Grand Jury. An indictment by the grand jury would move the case from Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge, where it has been, to Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

The armed robbery was reported at about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, January 10, at the Hibachi Burger restaurant, which is in Grove Center.

The defendant, Dominique Leshawn Gordon, 22, allegedly entered Hibachi Burger while displaying a firearm, and he demanded money from the register while showing the gun to several employees and customers, “placing them in fear of serious bodily injury,” according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

After getting the money, Gordon fled on foot, but he was caught a short time later by Oak Ridge Police Department patrol officers, the affidavits said. Officers who searched him after his arrest found the money that had been taken from the restaurant, according to the affidavits, which were filed by ORPD Detective A. Marvell Moore. [Read more…]

Police catch man six minutes after robbery reported at Arby’s

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Tyler Gilmore

Tyler Gilmore

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department said it caught a suspect within six minutes of a robbery being reported at the Arby’s restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon.

The strong armed robbery was reported at 2:10 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant, which is at 114 South Illinois Avenue.

“Officers saturated the area and apprehended the suspect within six minutes of the initial call,” the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“Police learned that the suspect forcibly took a patron’s wallet as he was entering the restaurant,” the ORPD said. “The suspect fled on foot into a nearby neighborhood. Once police captured the suspect, they were able to recover the stolen wallet containing $13.00 in cash. No injuries were reported.” [Read more…]

ORPD investigating robbery reported at Cash Company

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The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a robbery reported at The Cash Company in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.

The robbery was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at the business, which is at 1966 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the ORPD said.

“Officers were advised that a single suspect entered the business with a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money,” the Police Department said in a statement. “The suspect was described as a Caucasian male wearing a dark-colored ski jacket and a light-colored ski mask. The suspect showed the weapon to an employee, took an undisclosed amount of cash, and fled west on foot.” [Read more…]

Clinton police ask for help identifying robbery suspect

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Surveillance camera footage from a Git N Go robbery on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

Surveillance camera footage from a Git N Go robbery on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

 

An armed robbery was reported early Thursday at a Git’ N Go Market in Clinton, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at about 2 a.m. Thursday, November 30, at 501 South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, according to the Clinton Police Department. The gas station and convenience store are just southwest of downtown Clinton, near Food City.

The CPD said a white man entered the store, held the clerk at gunpoint, and stole a small amount of money from the cash register. [Read more…]

Knoxville man indicted in alleged robbery that ended in shooting

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Matthew Allen Mashburn

Matthew Allen Mashburn

 

A Knoxville man has been indicted in an alleged robbery that was reportedly set up through social media and resulted in a man being shot in the legs on East Holston Lane in Oak Ridge in November.

Matthew Allen Mashburn, 28, of Knox Lane in Knoxville, has been charged with especially aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, and aggravated assault. He was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, September 5.

The indictments said that the victim, Wesley Arnold, was seriously injured and assaulted while a handgun was displayed, and Mashburn had conspired with Nicole Brewer to plan the aggravated robbery during a drug transaction.

Mashburn has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, September 29, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

Carjacking, attempted robbery, assault charges sent to grand jury

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Sheila K Jones

Sheila K. Jones

 

Attempted robbery, carjacking, and aggravated assault charges against an Oliver Springs woman were sent to a grand jury for its consideration after a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Charges against Sheila K. Jones, 43, of Henley Circle, also include evading arrest, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and driving on a revoked license.

Jones had allegedly been a passenger in a vehicle in May when she allegedly climbed on top of the driver, Deborah G. Russell of Oliver Springs, who had said she was going home. Jones allegedly pressed Russell’s right leg down to the gas pedal and grabbed the steering wheel to prevent Russell from turning near the intersection of Tulsa Road and South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court on May 11.

“The victim (Russell) indicated that the defendant (Jones) started saying things such as ‘I’ll beat your ass’ and ‘I’ll blow your brains out,” the affidavits said. “After the defendant put the vehicle in park, the victim released her seatbelt, and the defendant opened and shoved the victim out of the driver’s door. The victim was still ‘hung’ in the seatbelt, until it finally came off, and the defendant shouted, ‘You made me do this!'”

At that point, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Cory Strange saw the vehicle—an older model gold vehicle that had been stopped next to an apparent pedestrian—spin its rear tires and make a hasty illegal U-turn in the middle of ORAU Way, according to the affidavits. [Read more…]

Benanti gets four life sentences, plus 155 years, in bank extortion, robbery spree

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Michael Benanti

Michael Benanti

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Tuesday to four consecutive life sentences in federal prison, plus an additional 155 years, for his convictions involving a violent bank extortion and robbery spree in four states and several cities, including Oak Ridge and Knoxville, authorities said.

Michael Anthony Benanti, 45, of Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Varlan in Knoxville on Tuesday.

Benanti had been convicted by a jury after a trial in U.S. District Court in February 2017. The jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and armed bank extortion, two counts of attempted armed bank extortion, one count of armed bank extortion, three counts of carjacking, three counts of kidnapping, three counts of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and 10 counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

“Often, severe federal penalties, such as mandatory minimum sentences, are the most effective tool to protect the American public from a violent criminal like Benanti,” U.S. Attorney Nancy Harr said in a press release. “The consecutive sentences received by Benanti for firearms violations ensure he will never again be able to victimize families in East Tennessee or elsewhere. The U.S. Attorney’s office is, and remains committed to, prosecuting these crimes and seeking the highest penalties possible to help keep the American people safe.” [Read more…]

KCSO investigates robbery at gas station in Solway, describes suspects

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The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway. (Photo via Knox County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway. (Photo via Knox County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)

 

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning at a gas station in Solway.

According to the initial investigation, two males entered the Kenjo Market, located at 8901 Oak Ridge Highway, around 4:18 a.m. Monday, the KCSO said. Armed with a handgun, the two robbed the business of an undisclosed amount of money and fled.

One suspect is described as a white male with brown hair, approximately 45-60 years old, and he is 5’8”-5’10” and estimated to weigh 180-200 pounds. He was wearing a white bandana around his neck, a red and black shirt, denim pants, and a dark-colored hat at the time of the robbery, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]

Warrants: Anderson County man allegedly carjacked two vehicles in Clinton, tried to steal third

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Justin Wade Welch

Justin Wade Welch

 

An Anderson County man is facing 13 charges that include carjacking and robbery after allegedly taking two cars by force and trying to take another in Clinton on Thursday, and then fleeing from officers and resisting arrest, according to arrest warrants.

Justin Wade Welch, 30, remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Tuesday morning. His bond has been set at $500,000.

Welch has been charged with two counts of carjacking and one count of attempted carjacking. He’s also been charged with three counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.

The Clinton Police Department also charged him with two counts of vehicular assault.

And the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department charged him with evading arrest, resisting arrest, and driving on a suspended license.

Arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton said Welch allegedly carjacked one vehicle at Clinton Towers on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in downtown Clinton, tried to carjack a second vehicle several blocks south at Food City on South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard, and carjacked a third vehicle on Highland Drive next to Food City. [Read more…]

Unknown suspect with knife robs Staybridge Suites

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An unknown suspect armed with a knife robbed the Staybridge Suites on South Illinois Avenue on Sunday night, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at the hotel at about 10:42 p.m. Sunday, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department summary.

The suspect took $100 from the business and placed a victim in “fear of imminent bodily harm,” the summary said.

Police have not yet made an arrest in the alleged robbery.

More information will be added as it becomes available.