Oak Ridge Today

Mental evaluation ordered in alleged dog stabbing, arson

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Sklyer Christian Griffin

Sklyer Christian Griffin

 

An evaluation of competency and mental capacity has been ordered in the case in which police say a 19-year-old man fatally stabbed a 10-year-old dog and then started a fire in the living room of an apartment on Villanova Road in Oak Ridge.

The evaluation at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital was ordered Tuesday by Judge Roger Miller of Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

The evaluation should include a determination of the mental capacity of the defendant, Skyler C. Griffin, at the time of the alleged crime, his competency to stand trial, and his ability to assess the nature of his conduct, according to the order.

Griffin had a court hearing on Tuesday afternoon in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. He now has a status hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. November 7. [Read more…]

Man stabs dog, then starts fire, police say

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Sklyer Christian Griffin

Sklyer Christian Griffin

 

An Oak Ridge man stabbed a dog, which died from its wounds, and then started a fire in the living room of a home on Villanova Avenue on Friday, according to police.

Skyler C. Griffin, 19, has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated arson, and vandalism, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kenneth Prickett said Griffin came through the front door of an apartment on Villanova Avenue on Friday and physically attacked a 10-year-old male beagle mix that lives there.

“Griffin admitted to striking the dog with his hands and closed fists before pulling out his pocket knife and stabbing the dog in the neck and in the lower abdomen,” Prickett said. “The dog ran from the living room area and onto the outside balcony, where it succumbed to the stab wounds.” [Read more…]