Oak Ridge Today

Lunch with League to feature chancellor candidates

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Lunch with the League on Tuesday will feature candidates for Anderson County chancellor.

It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Anderson County will have its primary election on March 5. The four candidates for chancellor in the Republican primary will be James W. Brooks Jr. (the incumbent), Daniel Forrester, Evan Hauser, and Roger Miller, a press release said.

Brooks was appointed chancellor in April 2023 by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee after former Chancery Court Judge M. Nichole “Nicki” Cantrell resigned.

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Secretary’s Honor Awards recognize ORNL employees

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at the Secretary’s Honor Awards Ceremony, which was presented virtually. (Photo credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in January for their work on projects related to computer tools and classified information, a new alloy, and the production of plutonium-238 and special components for the Mars Perseverance rover.

The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation, a press release said. More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received awards.

“The Department of Energy’s core mission—promoting scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent, and remediating environmental harms—have never been more important,” Granholm said. “Our role in tackling the climate emergency and ensuring America’s continued security and prosperity is absolutely critical, and it could not be done without the dedicated and diverse team of world-class scientists, engineers, policy experts, and mission support personnel employed at our headquarters, fields sites, and laboratories across the country.”

The teams and ORNL employees named in achievement awards include:

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Roger Miller will seek re-election as general sessions judge

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Roger Miller

Judge Roger A. Miller will seek re-election to a second eight-year term as General Sessions Court Judge, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

Miller was elected to be one of the two general sessions judges in Anderson County in 2014 after practicing law for 16 years in Clinton, a press release said.

A lifetime resident of Anderson County, Miller graduated from Clinton High School in 1980. Prior to practicing law, he served as an EMS paramedic for 13 years with the Anderson County Ambulance Service and Methodist Medical Center. Miller was the first full-time paramedic employed in the Methodist Medical Center Emergency Room in the mid-1990s, the press release said.

Miller obtained an associate degree in applied science from Roane State Community College before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences. He obtained his law degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in 1998, the press release said.

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Evaluation ordered for Finnegan at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge some time between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

A forensic evaluation has been ordered for Sean Finnegan—one of two defendants in a murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping case in Oak Ridge—at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute.

The forensic evaluation was ordered last Tuesday by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller. The order was based upon a petition by the defense and a recommendation from Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services. Finnegan, 52, had an evaluation scheduled at Ridgeview in Oak Ridge on August 31.

Under the new order, he is to be evaluated at the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute—Intensive Services Program for a maximum of 30 days regarding his competency to stand trial and his mental condition at the time of the alleged crimes (the insanity defense).

IQ testing is to be included in the evaluation, the order said. The mental health evaluation is also expected to include a finding about whether Finnegan meets specific criteria for being committed.

It’s not unusual for defendants in homicide cases to have a mental health evaluation of this type. The results are generally not available to the public.

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Attempted murder charge sent to grand jury

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Miccarrow D. Trice Jr.

An attempted murder charge filed against an Oak Ridge man was sent to the grand jury on Tuesday after a woman was allegedly shot in the face at an apartment complex in May.

There was a preliminary hearing for Miccarrow D. Trice Jr., 25, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

After the hearing, Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller bound over an attempted first-degree murder charge against Trice. That means the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton could now consider whether to file charges against Trice. There is no timeline for when the grand jury might hear the case, but the process can take six months or so. A grand jury indictment moves the case from general sessions court to criminal court.

The shooting was reported at Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.

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Evaluation ordered for Finnegan, charged with murder, rape, kidnapping

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

An evaluation at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital has been ordered for a 52-year-old man charged with murder, rape, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse in a series of gruesome crimes allegedly committed against a 36-year-old woman in a home in east Oak Ridge between December 2019 and August 2020.

The evaluation was ordered for Sean Finnegan in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Friday. The evaluation was recommended by Finnegan’s attorney, who was able to show why it should be conducted, Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller said in the order.

Finnegan is represented by Kathy Kroeger, a public defender in the Seventh Judicial District in Anderson County.

The evaluation by Ridgeview is expected to include Finnegan’s competency to stand trial and his mental capacity at the time he allegedly committed the crimes against Jennifer Gail Paxton of Knoxville. It is also expected to include an IQ test and an evaluation of Finnegan’s ability to assess his conduct.

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Judge denies motion to reduce bond for Dishman, who could face death penalty

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Rebecca Dishman, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 p.m.

An Anderson County judge on Tuesday denied a motion to reduce the $1 million bond for Rebecca Dishman, and a prosecutor said the state could consider the death penalty in the “especially heinous” murder.

Dishman, 22, is one of two defendants charged with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse in a series of gruesome crimes allegedly committed against Jennifer Gail Paxton, 36, of Knoxville, in a home in east Oak Ridge sometime between December and August.

Dishman had a hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. She was represented by defense attorney Paul Sexton.

Sexton said Dishman waived her right to be in court, and she did not appear to hear the discussion of her case. On Dishman’s behalf, Sexton asked Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller to reduce her bond.

“She’s a woman of limited means,” Sexton said, and there is no way she can afford to be released on bond.

Under the law, Dishman is entitled to a reasonable bond, Sexton said.

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Meth, conspiracy charges dismissed after warrantless search

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William Michael Renfro
William Michael Renfro

Citing a warrantless search, an Anderson County judge has dismissed drug and conspiracy charges in a case where police allegedly found 45.1 grams of methamphetamine in a backpack in an Oak Ridge motel room in May.

“I hate to dismiss serious charges,” said Roger Miller, judge of the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. But, he added, “I don’t think the proof would hold up.”

Suggesting that a search warrant should have been obtained, Miller said he is accessible and signs many search warrants.

The two people charged in the case had been William Michael Renfro, 18, of Oak Ridge, and Carlie Alise Wisman, 22, also of Oak Ridge.

Renfro had been charged with manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule II controlled substance (the 45.1 grams of meth), a Class A felony; criminal conspiracy, a Class B felony; manufacturing, selling, delivering, or possessing a schedule IV controlled substance (9.5 grams of marijuana), a Class D felony; and possession of a firearm (a Ruger Security Six .357 revolver with six rounds) during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class D felony.

All four of those charges were dismissed after a preliminary hearing for Renfro in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Thursday, December 12. During a preliminary hearing, a judge can hear from witnesses, victims, and police officers, and determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

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Courts: Attempted murder charges sent to grand jury after apartment shooting

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

Two attempted first-degree murder charges filed against a 20-year-old woman after a shooting in an Oak Ridge apartment parking lot in May have been sent to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

The charges against Kali Annabelle Bailey, whose last known address was in Powell, were bound over, or sent to, the grand jury, after a 100-minute preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, July 31. A victim and a police officer both testified during the preliminary hearing.

Bailey is accused of shooting into a Kia Optima car that had two people inside and was backed into a parking space in the Manhattan Apartments on North Purdue Avenue at about 11:03 p.m. May 6 as part of a possible dispute between two women over a man, which was described in court as jealousy or a “love triangle.”

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Hearing set for Tuesday in attempted murder case

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Kali Annabelle Bailey

Kali Annabelle Bailey

 

A hearing date has been set for Tuesday for a woman charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot into an occupied vehicle in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Oak Ridge on Sunday, May 6.

The hearing for Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, of Powell, has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The hearing date was scheduled on the assumption that Bailey is not able to be released on a $250,000 bond.

But it’s not clear if the date might change if Bailey is able to be released on bail, or if any of the subpoenas that might be issued in the case are not served between now and Tuesday. Two subpoenas were issued to victims in court on Tuesday this week, according to Anderson County court records. There is one more subpoena that has been issued, but not served, and that’s to an Oak Ridge Police Department officer, the court records said.

Bailey had allegedly threatened to shoot one of the two people in the vehicle, a female passenger, several months before she allegedly shot into it on May 6, authorities said. Bailey had reportedly tried to argue with the female victim, Bailee D. Bolden of Oak Ridge, about her relationship with the male victim, Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, authorities said. [Read more…]

Mental health evaluation ordered for man charged with terrorism

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Agey Christopher Stamey

Agey Christopher Stamey

 

A mental health evaluation has been ordered for a man who was charged with terrorism in January after allegedly threatening to blow up Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge with dynamite and shoot everyone inside with a shotgun.

The first evaluation for Agey C. Stamey II, 40, of Knoxville,was ordered at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller on January 25. The appointment had been scheduled for February 21, according to court records.

A second order, filed March 6, said Ridgeview had recommended that Stamey be referred to the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga for an evaluation. A transport order filed Thursday said Stamey has an appointment scheduled for April 19.

The evaluation is expected to determine Stamey’s competency to stand trial and mental condition at the time of the crime (the insanity defense). [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…]