Oak Ridge Today

WYSH: County officials request records from Clinton as Courthouse case crosses street

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Clinton City Hall

Clinton City Hall (Photo courtesy City of Clinton)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The controversy and conflict regarding the copying of hard drives from computers in the Anderson County Human Resources Department has spilled across the street from the County Courthouse to Clinton City Hall.

As we have reported, County Human Resources Director Cathy Best announced her resignation Monday after almost 10 years on the job and her looming departure, along with that of her second-in-command Kerri Ashley, prompted County Mayor Terry Frank to try to have their hard drives copied. Her request was made after she was informed last month that former building inspector Lisa Crumpley was planning on filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against the county, alleging that she was fired for cooperating in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe that led to the indictment of her boss, David Crowley, on charges of inspecting buildings without the necessary certifications.

Frank wanted to copy all forensic evidence on the computers used by Best and Ashley, as they may contain information regarding Crumpley’s termination and what became of her personnel file, which went missing days after she was fired. [Read more…]

Sheriff intervenes in standoff between mayor, HR director over computer hard drives

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Cathy Best of Anderson County Human Resources Department

Human Resources Director Cathy Best is pictured above in the Anderson County Human Resources Department on Wednesday afternoon. With Best’s agreement, the passwords to the department’s computers had been changed, and a few Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies were stationed near the entrance to the HR office as Best and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank sought to resolve a dispute over how to copy two computer hard drives in the office.

 

CLINTON—After the sheriff intervened, the Anderson County mayor and human resources director remained at a standoff Wednesday afternoon over how to copy the hard drives of two computers in the county’s Human Resources Department.

The hard drives could contain personnel records related to building inspector Lisa Crumpley, who was terminated on October 9 and has threatened to sue the county. Her personnel file has been reported missing.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said she wants to preserve records related to Crumpley’s wrongful termination claim, as instructed by Knoxville law firm Kramer Rayson LLP, which represents Crumpley.

On Tuesday, the day after Human Resources Director Cathy Best announced her resignation, Frank proposed sending the hard drives used by Best and Human Resources Generalist Kerri Ashley, who has also resigned, to a Knoxville company to have copies made.

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

But Best objected, Frank said, and the mayor had a technician from Computer Systems Plus come to the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Wednesday morning to make copies on-site. The county consultant had started disassembling the computers when Sheriff Paul White showed up, and the technician quit working because he believed he could be arrested if he continued, the mayor said.

Best said she does not object to copying the hard drives, but she wants to ensure that the proper procedure is followed. She said her department’s hard drives could contain health information that is not public, conversations with attorneys during the past 10 years, and information that might relate to an investigation by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department of Crumpley’s missing personnel file.

“I have a right and a duty to maintain the security of these files,” Best said. [Read more…]

Updated: Anderson County building commissioner faces charges in TBI case

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David Lynn Crowley

David Lynn Crowley

Note: This story was updated at 3 p.m.

Anderson County Public Works Director David Lynn Crowley was arrested Thursday morning by agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on five charges of violating state laws dealing with having the proper licenses to perform building inspections.

In a press release, the TBI said Crowley, 62, of Clinton, is accused of performing building inspections he wasn’t certified to do. Crowley was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury. He is charged with five misdemeanor counts of violating the state’s building official certification law.

Crowley was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton at 9:45 a.m. Thursday and released on a $1,000 bond a little more than an hour later. [Read more…]

TBI: Roane officers justified in using deadly force

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Information from WYSH Radio

An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded that the shooting of an armed burglary suspect in Harriman on Tuesday was justified. Officers shot and killed 28-year-old Miranda Michelle Guy inside her home on Fairchild Street on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a joint press release from District Attorney General Russell Johnson, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Harriman Police Department, Guy pointed a handgun at the officers and was advancing on one of them when they opened fire. The preliminary autopsy showed that Guy was hit multiple times in her right arm, which was holding the gun, and her front torso.

Officials said that while a Harriman Police Department officer was speaking to witnesses of a burglary at a storage building in South Harriman, a white pickup truck drove by that the witnesses identified as the vehicle that the suspect in the break-in had been driving. The release said the officer could see items in the bed of the truck that matched the description of some of the stolen items. The officer ordered the truck to stop, but the driver, who was identified as Guy, sped up and drove away.

The officer started a pursuit, which was joined by a HPD investigator and two Roane County Sheriff’s Department deputies. The four officers followed Guy to her house, where they saw her run inside. The officers split up, with two going to the back of the house while the other two followed Guy inside through the front door. [Read more…]

DA: Crime rate in Anderson County drops seven consecutive years

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The crime rate in Anderson County has dropped for seven consecutive years, District Attorney General Dave Clark said.

Crime in Anderson County was down by 10.1 percent in 2013, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation numbers, Clark said in a recent press release. Crime in the county is down by more than 37 percent in the past seven years, he said.

“There are thousands of fewer crimes in Anderson County now, as compared to 2007,” Clark said.

“This is great news for the people of Anderson County because we are safer from crime and can enjoy the benefits of having a crime rate that is below average for the state,” Clark said. “This is also great news for recruiting good industry and retail jobs to Anderson County and a variety of other benefits. [Read more…]

Reported crimes down 45 percent in Anderson County

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tbi-total-reported-crimes-2007-2013

The overall number of reported crimes in Anderson County fell 45 percent from 2007 to 2013, with the most dramatic drop during the past two years—2012 and 2013, Sheriff Paul White said in a recent press release.

Crimes against people have decreased 56.3 percent since 2007, crimes against society have fallen 42.5 percent, and crimes against property have dropped 41.1 percent, White said.

The most prevalent crimes in rural areas of the county are property crimes such as burglaries and thefts. Both have decreased significantly during the last two years, White said.

“This drop in overall crime can be directly attributed to proactive law enforcement and increased patrols of the rural areas of the county,” White said. “Added personnel in 2007 and 2008 have allowed directed patrols and enhanced investigations of property crimes. These efforts have resulted in more crimes solved and over 800 arrests for burglary and theft offenses since 2007.” [Read more…]

TBI investigating alleged rape by police officer or security guard

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TBI Logo

State authorities are investigating an allegation by an adult female that she was raped by someone who appeared to be a police officer or security guard, the Oak Ridge Police Department said Wednesday afternoon.

The woman was interviewed by Oak Ridge police officers on Tuesday. The Police Department then contacted the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, which notified the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation of the allegation, the ORPD said.

TBI Public Information Officer Josh DeVine confirmed that the bureau is investigating the allegation, but he said he can’t discuss any details, including when and where the alleged rape is alleged to have occurred or whether it might involve a security guard or police officer.

“It’s very preliminary at this point,” DeVine said.

More information will be add as it becomes available.

Clinton police solve more cases as crime falls

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Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough

Rick Scarbrough

The percentage of crimes solved by Clinton Police Department officers and detectives was up in 2013, while the total number of crimes was down, authorities said.

“The numbers are moving in the right direction…and that’s good news for everyone in Clinton,” CPD Chief Rick Scarbrough said.

CPD cleared nearly half of the reported crimes in 2013, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime statistics, a press release said. The Clinton Police Department’s percentage of crimes cleared is up about 5 percent from 2012 numbers and is higher than most other area agencies.

“That means our officers are solving more cases,” the press release said. A total of 888 substantial offenses were reported to the Clinton Police Department in 2013. That number is down from 1,116 reported in 2012.  [Read more…]

One Anderson man gets life, second 30 years in meth conspiracy

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Jeffery Scott Braden

Jeffery Scott Braden

Two Anderson County men convicted of conspiring to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine were sentenced to lengthy prison terms this week, federal officials said Friday.

Officials estimate that the conspiracy resulted in the production of about 1,500 grams of methamphetamine.

Jeffrey Scott Braden, 37, of Vowell Mountain—the only one of 42 people indicted in the conspiracy to go to trial—received a mandatory life sentence on Thursday in a hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan in Knoxville, officials said.

Then, on Friday, Varlan sentenced conspiracy leader Lawrence “Stoney” Scriver, 46, of Lake City, to serve 30 years, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. [Read more…]

Two orthopedic clinics to pay $1.85 million over Medicare billing allegations

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Two orthopedic clinics in East Tennessee have agreed to pay a combined $1.85 million to resolve state and federal False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly billed state and federal health care programs for reimported osteoarthritis medications, known as viscosupplements, federal authorities said.

Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics, P.C., with headquarters in Knoxville and nine locations in East Tennessee, will pay $1.3 million and Appalachian Orthopaedic Clinics, P.C., with headquarters in Kingsport and three locations in the Tri-Cities area, will pay $550,000, according to a press release from  the U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. Killian is U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The press release said viscosupplements, such as Synvisc and Orthovisc, are injections approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain in the knee. Viscosupplements are reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs at a set rate based on the average sales price of the domestic product. [Read more…]

City move could add another police officer to Oak Ridge Schools

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Oak Ridge High School

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

It’s part of a program to improve student safety and use law enforcement to reduce unacceptable student behaviors, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

Oak Ridge Schools now have one school resource officer, or SRO. There have been discussions about adding more officers, especially since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution that would allow the Oak Ridge Police Department to hire an extra police officer, exceeding its authorized personnel staffing levels, in order to assign an existing police officer as an SRO. There have been proposals to add more—in December, City Council member Trina Baughn proposed one at each of the city’s two middle schools—but Watson and Akagi are recommending one additional officer now. [Read more…]

Domestic violence down; most victims female, TBI says

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Reports of domestic violence fell 3.4 percent during a three-year period from 2010 to 2012 in Tennessee, state authorities said.

Nearly 72 percent of the victims were female in cases where the gender of the victims were known, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a recently released study.

The TBI analyzed the state’s domestic violence crime data as reported by law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System, or TIBRS, program. The data showed a 0.4 percent drop in domestic violence reports from 2010 to 2011 and a 2.9 percent decrease from 2011 to 2012. [Read more…]