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FBI releases composite sketches in kidnappings, extortions at Y-12 FCU, SmartBank

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FBI Press Conference Composite Sketches Extortion, Kidnapping

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday released composite sketches on two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July.

See descriptions of the three below.

Here is the FBI press release:

[Read more…]

FBI asks for public’s help catching suspects in kidnappings, extortions at two banks

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Ed Reinhold

Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for FBI Knoxville, asks for the public’s help catching two suspects involved in two alleged kidnapping and extortion plots at banks in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s help in catching the suspects involved in the kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge and SmartBank in Knoxville. The FBI is also working with bank employees to ensure they know what to do in the future and to be aware of their surroundings.

On Wednesday, the FBI announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the identification and arrests of the suspects. They’ve released descriptions of two white male suspects.

“The only way we can prevent this from happening is to catch these guys,” said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge at the FBI Knoxville. The FBI had a Thursday afternoon press conference at its Knoxville office on Dowell Springs Road.

Agents are asking members of the public who might know anything to step forward. [Read more…]

FBI offers reward up to $20,000 for info on kidnapping, extortion at Y-12 FCU, SmartBank

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning (April 28, 2015). The branch will remain closed Wednesday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:10 a.m.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the identification and arrests of the suspects in the kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union and SmartBank.

The FBI, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department are asking the public to help identify and locate the people responsible for the kidnappings and extortions.

The FBI said that on April 28, at approximately 8:15 a.m., a Y-12 Federal Credit Union employee and his family were kidnapped from their residence and held hostage at gunpoint.

While the family was held hostage, the employee was coerced to attempt to remove money from the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 501 Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Joint venture CU Insurance Services of Tennessee now open

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CU Insurance Services of TennesseeA new joint venture between Y-12 Federal Credit Union and ORNL Federal Credit Union known as CU Insurance Services of Tennessee LLC is now open, a press release said.

CU Insurance Services of Tennessee was formed to “provide a wide variety of personal insurance solutions to members, including homeowner, automobile, personal umbrella, boat, fire, RV, and motorcycle coverage,” the press release said.

“The new agency represents several top-rated carriers to allow members to customize protection while focusing on a premium payment plan that fits their budget,” the release said. [Read more…]

Investigation continues, suspect info released in Y-12 FCU kidnapping, extortion

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, April 28, for what was later reported to be a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a credit union employee’s family and the Oak Ridge branch of the credit union.

 

Authorities continue to investigate a kidnapping and extortion plot involving the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge last week, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some information describing the three suspects.

The alleged kidnapping and extortion started at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, when a credit union employee’s family was kidnapped from the Whittington Creek neighborhood in west Knox County in an effort to extort money from the credit union, the FBI said in a press release on Wednesday.

“The employee’s family was held at gunpoint for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville, around 9:25 a.m.,” the release said. “Upon being released, the victims were able to seek help from a nearby residence. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled and remain at large. No injuries were reported, and no money was taken from the credit union.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge branch of Y-12 FCU will remain closed Wed., re-open Thursday

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The branch will remain closed Wednesday and reopen Thursday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open on Wednesday.

 

The Oak Ridge branch of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union will remain closed Wednesday and re-open Thursday, a spokesman said. The branch was closed Tuesday during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department into a report of a bank robbery, kidnapping, and extortion.

Police responded to the Oak Ridge branch at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. There were at least a half-dozen officers and detectives at the scene, and they blocked the entrance to the credit union.

Customers were not able to use the bank while authorities investigated. Chris Smith, vice president of marketing at Y-12 Federal Credit Union, said officials were only allowing staff and investigators to enter on Tuesday morning.

He said the Credit Union branch will remain closed Wednesday and reopen for normal hours on Thursday. But employees remain at the Oak Ridge headquarters, which shares a five-story building with the branch, and all staff will report to work on Wednesday, Smith said Tuesday afternoon. [Read more…]

FBI, ORPD, Knox respond to bank robbery, kidnapping report at Y-12 FCU

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The branch will remain closed Wednesday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open.

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 501 Lafayette Drive on Tuesday on a report of a bank robbery, kidnapping, and extortion.

Preliminary reports indicate that at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, an employee of the credit union and the employee’s family were threatened in an attempt to obtain money from the credit union, an FBI press release said. The employee’s family was held for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville at around 9:25 a.m. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled, and no injuries have been reported, and no money was taken from the credit union. [Read more…]

Police respond to Y-12 Credit Union, which closes, but not clear why

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Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The credit union was cordoned off and then closed, but it’s not clear why.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:42 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, and the bank was cordoned off and then closed but it’s not clear why.

The ORPD has referred questions to the FBI office in Knoxville and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The call to the ORPD came in at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. Officers blocked the entrance to the credit union, and at one point, they visually checked cars in a parking lot across Midland Road from the bank.

ORPD detectives were at the scene and remained there for at least a few hours afterward. The Credit Union is near the intersection of Lafayette Drive and South Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Teen Battle of the Bands in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Teen Battle of the Bands

File photo/2014

 

The annual Battle of the Teen Bands is this evening (Friday, April 24).

It’s been organized by Y-12 Federal Credit Union and the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board.

The Battle of the Bands is scheduled from 6-9 p.m. today at the Oak Ridge Civic Center Pavilion. The rain venue will be the Paradox Teen Center in Oak Ridge.

Prizes are studio time (a $1,000 value), $300, and $150.

Man charged in attempted ATM theft with Bobcat on Christmas Day 2013

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Bobcat and ATM Safe from Y-12 Federal Credit Union

A Bobcat allegedly involved in a plot to steal a safe from an ATM in east Oak Ridge on Christmas Day 2013 is tipped over on its side in a small ditch next to the safe, which had not been opened. (File photo/December 25, 2013)

 

Stanley Wallace II

Stanley Junior Wallace

A Kingston man has been arrested and charged in the alleged conspiracy to steal an ATM safe loaded with $26,000 in cash using a Bobcat and pickup truck on Christmas Day 2013.

The plot to steal the 4,000-pound safe was unsuccessful. But the suspects were able to demolish the stand-alone Y-12 Federal Credit Union automated teller machine near Tractor Supply in east Oak Ridge and pull the safe several hundred feet across a field before the Bobcat tipped over in a small culvert next to Bogola Road. An attempt to remove the cash box with a stolen Ford F250 pickup truck also failed, so the suspects left the area, authorities said.

Stanley Junior Wallace, 25, of Lawnville Road in Kingston, has been charged in the case. He was arrested March 26 and faces charges of attempted theft of more than $10,000, vandalism of more than $10,000, attempted aggravated burglary, auto burglary, conspiracy, aggravated trespassing, and joyriding.

Oak Ridge Police Department Detective William Weaver said he interviewed Wallace at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on April 21, 2014. Wallace was given his Miranda warning and agreed to speak with Weaver, according to arrest warrants. [Read more…]

Snow: Oak Ridge Schools closed, city opens late, Discovery Ed Livestream postponed

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Snow Sweeper at Oak Ridge High School

A tractor with sweeping equipment helps remove snow from the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by Julio Culiat) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:52 p.m. Some of these announcements continue to change. We will update this story as we can.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed today (Tuesday, February 24), and the City of Oak Ridge offices will open at 10 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools said the Discovery Ed Livestream that had been scheduled for today has been postponed until May.

Anderson County Courthouse is closed due to weather. So is Roane State Community College. [Read more…]

FBI, KPD arrest Kingston suspect in Y-12 Credit Union robbery

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Y-12 Federal Credit Union Robbery on Clinton Highway

A surveillance photo from the alleged robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Clinton Highway on Friday, January 23. (Source: FBI)

The FBI and Knoxville Police Department on Saturday arrested a Kingston man suspected of robbing the Y-12 Federal Union on Clinton Highway on Friday.

Bryan Samples, 43, is being held without bail pending trial, said Marshall Stone, supervisory special agent for the FBI in Knoxville.

The robbery of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 6640 Clinton Highway was reported at about 4:49 p.m. Friday. A suspect entered the Credit Union and passed a teller a bank robbery demand note, obtained an undisclosed amount of money, and then fled. [Read more…]