Blount County, TN (WOKI) The Blount County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a person in connection to a deadly shooting Friday night in a rural area of the county.
BCSO officials say deputies responded to Pryor Road, which is located in a rural community off Nails Creek Road between Wildwood and Seymour, where they found one person dead.
BCSO says another person was taken into custody, and the shooting remains under investigation.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knoxville police have identified the victim in Friday’s fatal hit-and-run crash on Chapman Highway.
Officers called to Chapman Highway at Fort Avenue, just south of the Henley Street Bridge early Friday morning, found 40-year-old Zachariah Allen in the intersection; he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A witness says Allen was hit by a black SUV while walking across Chapman Highway, and that the SUV drove away.
KPD says efforts are ongoing to identify and locate the driver of the involved vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165.
Knoxville Police are investigating an early (Monday) morning shooting in North Knoxville.
Officers responded to a shooting at the Red Roof Inn on Central Avenue Pike and learned there was a female gunshot victim in the parking lot of the Hooters on Central Avenue Pike while responding to the original call.
Officers went to Hooters and saw a man providing aid to a female victim but he jumped on a motorcycle and sped away and crashed on Cedar Lane near Haynes Sterchi Road. The bike was stolen out of Chattanooga.
Police believe the man and woman were at the Inn attempting to steal another motorcycle. Another man fired multiple rounds, striking the woman at least one time and left the scene before police arrived.
The woman is in extremely critical condition, while the male who crashed on the fleeing motorcycle was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The owner of Joe’s Italian Cuisine, an Italian restaurant in Maryville, is charged with theft of merchandise after stealing thousands in meat from area grocery stores by putting it in his pants.
50 year-old Clement Milanzi was arrested at a Kroger on Northshore Drive on Thursday after he was seen selecting about $166 of merchandise and stuffing four steaks into his pants, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
He then went to the self-checkout and skipped scanning $107 worth of merchandise then left the store and was taken into custody.
KCSO detectives say similar thefts happened at other stores. The grocery stores reported a combined total loss exceeding $4,100.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 6th.
An investigation is underway after a woman is shot in a West Knoxville park.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office was called to McFee Park yesterday (Sunday) morning for a woman who had been shot in the foot. Officials don’t know which direction the bullet came from as the park is near a wooded area.
The victim was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening.
Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities.
Jefferson City, TN (WOKI) An in-home nurse in Jefferson City is facing several charges after authorities say she stole medication from one of her patients.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say 47-year-old Sally Hensley was charged Friday with theft, burglary and neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult after security camera footage provided by the patient showed Hensley pocketing approximately 15 hydrocodone pills.
The patient had alerted authorities about missing medication earlier in the week.
JCSO says they don’t think this was an isolated event and encourages any patient with similar circumstances involving this nurse to contact Det./Sgt. Jonathan Owens at 866-397-9411 ext. 1106.”
Gatlinburg, TN (WOKI) Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual synchronous firefly viewing opportunity at Elkmont from Monday, June 3 through Monday, June 10, but securing a spot requires entering a lottery.
The event is one of the park’s most unique. Each year in late May or early June, Photinus carolinus, a firefly species, flashes synchronously. Since 2006, the park has limited access to Elkmont during the event’s peak to help reduce traffic and disturbances to the insects.
You can enter the lottery for a seven person maximum vehicle reservation by going to recreation dot gov starting Friday, April 26 at 10 a.m. through Monday, April 29 at 11:59 p.m.
A total of 1,120 vehicle reservations (140 per night) will be issued.
All lottery applicants will be charged a $1.00 application fee. Successful applicants will automatically be given reservations, and a $24.00 reservation fee will be charged to the same credit or debit card used for the application fee.
During the event, Elkmont will close to the general public after 4:00 p.m.; exceptions are made for passholders, Elkmont campers and campers headed to the backcountry.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers asks for help Friday afternoon in tracking down two missing Knoxville children.
Two year old Serenity Yera and 4-year-old Fate Yera were reportedly last known to be living at 2080 Cecil Johnson Road, but the Department of Children’s Services has not been able to check in on them.
At this time, Crime Stoppers says they are not believed to be in danger, but it is “imperative” that they are located.
Those with information are being asked to call East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.— What if you could clean out clutter, prevent addiction, and protect the quality of your drinking water all at the same time? This Saturday, you can!
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), state and local government partners, dozens of substance use prevention coalitions, and law enforcement agencies are teaming up for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, April 27. There are more than 110 locally organized events across Tennessee with most scheduled for 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m local time.
Find a Take Back Day Event near you using this interactive map. https://tntogether.com/takebackday/
Take Back Day is an opportunity for anyone to safely and securely dispose of medications in their home that are either expired or no longer needed. In 2023, Tennesseans disposed of nearly 13,000 pounds of medications across the two Take Back Days in April and October.
“Chances are good you have prescription medications that you don’t need anymore. Disposal is easy and fast at one of our Take Back Day events. With prescription opioids and other medications, there’s risk of misuse and potential addiction. By getting them out of your house, you might prevent years of heartache or even save a life,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.
“Safe and secure disposal of prescription drugs protects public health and Tennessee’s waterways,” said David Salyers, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day helps raise awareness about this important issue and TDEC is proud to be a part of it.”
For people unable to stop by a Take Back Day event, there are 379 permanent drug drop boxes located across the state with at least one in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. In 2023, Tennesseans safely and securely disposed of more than 57 tons of medications through the permanent drug drop boxes.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: The suspect in Thursday night’s deadly shooting at a West Knoxville apartment has been taken into custody in Kentucky.
Knoxville police reporting that 49-year-old Michael Merrick was arrested for a DUI charge in Whitley County, Kentucky. He is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 49-year-old Nicole Fanney.
Fanney was found dead inside of her apartment at 3210 Atchley Ridge Way late Thursday night.
Police say the shooting is believed to be domestic in nature.
Merrick is currently being held at the Whitley County Detention Center, and will soon be extradited back to Knoxville.
ORIGINAL STORY: Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are pursuing strong leads after responding to a deadly shooting at a West Knoxville apartment late Thursday night.
At around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, 2024, KPD officers were dispatched to an apartment at 3210 Atchley Ridge Way in regards to a deceased person. Officers arrived on scene and found a woman inside of the apartment who had been shot multiple times. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
A suspect has not been arrested or charged at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.
