Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Violent sex offender arrested after church reports theft, city says

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Gregory Scott Tyree

Gregory Scott Tyree

Oak Ridge police officers arrested a violent sex offender after a church alleged that he stole mail, officials said Friday.

The Oak Ridge Police Department was dispatched to the Heritage Fellowship Church on North Illinois Avenue at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday to respond to a report of mail theft, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

ORPD Sergeant Robert Pitts located the suspect, Gregory Scott Tyree, 48, of Oak Ridge fleeing westbound on Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, the press release said. Pitts also recovered evidence along Robertsville Road across from Robertsville Middle School with the help of the pastor who witnessed the theft and followed the suspect, the release said. [Read more…]

Two more police officers, sergeant stationed at ORHS, Alternative School

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Oak Ridge High School

Three more Oak Ridge Police Department officers are stationed at Oak Ridge High School and Alternative School this year. The ORPD now has a school resource officer, a sergeant, and two non-patrol officers at the two schools.

Three more Oak Ridge Police Department officers are stationed at Oak Ridge High School and Alternative School this year. However, they are not school resource officers, or SROs.

For the past few years, the ORPD has had an SRO who works mostly at the high school. This year, though, a sergeant and two non-patrol officers are also stationed there and at the Alternative School next door, ORPD Chief Jim Akagi said Monday.

School officials had requested more SROs this year, following the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but funding has been an obstacle. While the new arrangement doesn’t add SROs, it will increase the police presence and visibility, Akagi said.

[Read more…]

Police Department starts crosswalk safety operation Friday

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Starting Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department will conduct an intensive eight-day pedestrian crosswalk safety operation that will focus on drivers who fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, a press release said.

Known as Operation Drive Safe 2013, the operation starting Friday will focus on a particularly dangerous location on Emory Valley Road, the press release said. It’s meant to improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the city.

[Read more…]