Oak Ridge Today

Five arrested after drug investigation in Anderson County

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Michael Antonio Johnson

Michael Antonio Johnson

Note: This story was updated at 10:32 p.m.

Five people were arrested Friday, May 13, after a search warrant was served at an Old Dutch Valley Road home, authorities said. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators and agents with the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force were assisted by the Sheriff’s Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics Team in serving the search warrant, which was obtained after an investigation into illegal drug and other criminal activity at the home, a press release said.

The two residents of the home, Michael Antonio Johnson, 44, and Lucy Jane Lowe, 35, were arrested for several felony and misdemeanor drug, weapons, and conspiracy offenses, the press release said.

Two others, Branden Charles Dye, 23, of Clinton, and Roxanne Nicole Luckey, of Briceville, were arrested for misdemeanor drug charges, authorities said. [Read more…]

Sheriff: 25 indicted on drug charges

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Paul White

Paul White

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.

Twenty-five people were indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County Grand Jury in November after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies have been out making arrests on these indictments while also continuing investigations on related drug activity, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday morning press release.

The drug investigations were conducted during the last few months. White said the indictments were for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession of illegal drugs, and those indicted either sold to undercover agents or possessed drugs for resale.

“These indictments primarily include charges resulting from sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana and methamphetamine-related offenses,” White said. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Eighteen arrested of 26 indicted on drug-related charges

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Paul White

Paul White

Eighteen of the 26 people indicted on drug-related charges by an Anderson County grand jury in June and July have been arrested, Sheriff Paul White said Thursday. Four were arrested in June after the indictments were returned, and the other 14 have been arrested since Monday, the sheriff said in a press release.

The arrests are the result of long hours of hard work by investigators of the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, White said. The agencies that cooperated in the investigations were the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the Clinton Police Department, the Oak Ridge Police Department, the Rocky Top (Lake City) Police Department, the 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force, and the District Attorney General’s Office.

“Our thanks for the teamwork from all the law enforcement agencies involved in these investigations,” which are ongoing, White said.

Here is the list of those arrested and their charges, as reported by the Sheriff’s Department: [Read more…]

Seventeen arrested, 26 indicted on drug-related charges, sheriff says

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Paul White

Paul White

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department arrested 17 people on drug-related charges on Monday and Tuesday following drug investigations during the last few months, Sheriff Paul White said Wednesday.

These charges are mostly result from the sale or possession for resale of prescription or legend drugs, as well as marijuana- and methamphetamine-related offenses, White said. The charges were included in 35 indictments against 26 people returned by an Anderson County Grand Jury in June and July after investigations by the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit.

White said deputies started making arrests on the indictments and related drug-activity investigations on Monday.

He said those indicted for the manufacture, sales, delivery, or possession either sold to undercover agents or were in possession of illegal drugs for resale. Of the 26 people indicted, 19 were charged with prescription narcotics offenses, three were charged with cocaine offenses, three were marijuana-related, and one was on methamphetamine charges. [Read more…]

Sexual act offered to investigator during prostitution investigation, sheriff says

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Young Hwa Park

Young Hwa Park

An employee at a spa in Anderson County offered a sexual act to a Sheriff’s Department investigator in exchange for money during an undercover prostitution investigation on Tuesday, authorities said.

Two women from Duluth, Ga., were arrested and charged with prostitution offenses, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a Wednesday afternoon press release.

The investigation at the recently opened “spa” called King Accupressure on Andersonville Highway started after the Sheriff’s Department was notified by the Law Director’s Office, White said. The investigation led Sheriff’s Department officials to believe that prostitution activity was occurring, White said.

An undercover operation was conducted Tuesday, and an employee of the business offered a sexual act to an investigator in exchange for money, the sheriff said. [Read more…]

Sheriff: Investigators arrest three, find four pounds of pot, seize two vehicles

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Sheriff Paul White and Wells Road Drug Raid

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White says investigators found about four pounds of marijuana, hash, and suspected prescription narcotics during a drug raid in Claxton on Thursday. Two vehicles and electronic items were seized, and three people were arrested. (Submitted photo)

Investigators found about four pounds of marijuana, hashish, and suspected prescription narcotics during a drug raid in Claxton on Thursday, authorities said. Three people were arrested, and two vehicles were seized.

Investigators also found drug paraphernalia at the home at 105 Wells Road, and they seized electronic items along with items used to process marijuana for resale, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said in a press release.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit obtained the search warrant for the home after an investigation into illegal drug activity. [Read more…]

Six clerks cited for selling beer to minor

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Six clerks in Anderson County were cited to court after businesses in Lake City and Oliver Springs sold beer to a minor during a compliance check in February, authorities said.

The sting was conducted on Feb. 20 and 21 by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, with help from the Lake City Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit visited 24 businesses to try to buy beer. Six sold beer to the underage person, the department said in a press release. Two of the six businesses did not check identification showing the person to be under 21, and four checked but sold the beer anyway. One on-premise business served the underage person, but the server realized the age before the sale was completed. [Read more…]

Son convicted of drug charges inside courtroom, father arrested outside

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William Charles Braden

William Charles Braden

Betty Jo Braden

Betty Jo Braden

After his son was convicted inside a federal courthouse in Knoxville on drug charges last week, a Lake City man was arrested outside, charged with selling a controlled substance, authorities said.

The mother was also arrested on drug charges, but she was at home on Vowell Mountain Lane near Lake City when she was picked up, authorities said. [Read more…]

Drug investigations lead to eight arrests, 17 indictments, sheriff says

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Brandy Danielle Braden

Brandy Danielle Braden

Joshua Travis Crowley

Joshua Travis Crowley

Eight people have been arrested on drug-related charges in Anderson County, including for prescription narcotics offenses and methamphetamine-related charges, after investigations by the Special Operations Unit of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, authorities said.

More arrests are expected because an Anderson County grand jury indicted a total of 17 people on 30 charges after the investigations, Sheriff Paul White said Tuesday. Authorities are also continuing to investigate related drug activity. [Read more…]