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…]