James Lawson, 36 (Courtesy: Anderson County Sheriff’s Office)
Clinton, TN (WOKI) A former Anderson County school resource officer takes a plea deal Thursday after allegedly “engaging in inappropriate conduct” with high school students.
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office officials say 36-year-old James Lawson was indicted on charges of solicitation of a minor and two counts of solicitation of a minor to observe sexual conduct by electronic means.
In exchange for pleading guilty, Lawson received diversion for the charges which will then be expunged after he completes requirements set by the court.
Lawson had been a school resource officer at Clinton High School since August of 2020; he resigned in December 2020 as an investigation into his conduct was launched.
The 30-year anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, also known as Operation Gothic Serpent, is approaching.
The battle was made into a book and movie commonly know as Black Hawk Down, and the soldiers will be gathering in Knoxville for the first time since that battle.
During the Battle of Mogadishu, soldiers had to run what is now famously known as the Mogadishu Mile where they had to run through the streets of Somalia being shot at the entire time until they made it to a safe spot one mile away.
Jason Moore, a Retired Army Ranger, says this is a very important event. Moore says they want to take this reunion as a jumping off point and and turn it into a charity that’s going to help Task Force Ranger and all the guys that are here and their kids and grandkids now that we’re getting older, we’re starting to think about a legacy and people not remembering what we’ve done.
During the reunion weekend, community members will have a chance to honor those soldiers by running a Mogadishu Mile through the streets of Knoxville on October 7th.
Members of a West Knox County neighborhood say they don’t want to a proposed affordable housing development to come to the area.
The project is proposed in the Choto area around Northshore Drive.
The development, Choto Landing, will be a 56-unit townhome community providing quality and affordable housing for people who earn less than $70,000 a year.
Pete Horton lives in the area and says they believe new buildings will create traffic delays on an already crowded Northshore as well as flooding concerns and crowded schools.
People who would qualify to live in this new development wouldn’t normally be able to live in this area.
Dominion Group, the developers behind the project, say they believe this is a worthy cause and something they don’t mind standing up for and acknowledge that they know people are concerned and they welcome difficult conversations.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Maryville man charged in the deadly Kingston Pike crash that killed 24-year-old Ben Kredich was released on bond Wednesday.
Forty-four year-old Shannon Walker is accused of driving while under the influence, crossing the road and hitting Kredich, killing him.
As part of his release, Walker is required to wear a special ankle monitor, 24/7, allowing it to test his sweat for blood alcohol concentration. Additionally, he is not allowed to drink or take non-prescribed drugs and must get a weekly drug screening.
Oak Ridge, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: Law enforcement in Oak Ridge ended an hours-long standoff Wednesday afternoon at the Tara Hills apartment complex, arresting a suspect who had barricaded himself inside.
Officials say 28-year-old Glen Duncan was arrested and charged with aggravated domestic assault and possession of prohibited weapons. They say Duncan was alone in his apartment but had made death threats to his family.
The standoff had been ongoing since the initial call came in just after 11:00 a.m. Responding officers evacuated one building in the complex and cut off access to the parking area.
Oak Ridge Schools also delayed bus lines to the complex; parents were asked to pick their children up at school.
ORIGINAL STORY: Oak Ridge Police Department officers, SWAT and negotiators are on the scene at Tara Hills Apartments in response to a possibly-armed person barricaded in an apartment.
ORPD officials say the original call that a person had barricaded themselves inside a unit with a weapon came in around 11:00 a.m.
As of 1:00 p.m., no roads near Tara Hills Apartments have been closed, but officials warn that is expected to change.
The situation has disrupted Oak Ridge Schools’ dismissal schedule.
School leadership personnel say no students will be dropped off at the complex until law enforcement clears the situation. Parents are being asked to pick their children up at school.
Preschool, Jefferson Middle School and Woodland students, along with some Oak Ridge High School and Secret City Academy students, are affected by the change, according to school officials.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Big changes are in-the-works for Knoxville’s most iconic structure: the Sunsphere.
The showpiece in World’s Fair Park is getting a paint job and a visitors’ center.
Beginning October 1st, the base of the Sunsphere, currently green, will be restored to its original PANTONE color Classic Blue 19-4052 TCX. The project should only cause minor inconveniences to visitors.
The renovation is in keeping with the designers’ original vision when architecture firm Community Tectonics created the Sunsphere for the 1982 World’s Fair. Inspired by the fair’s theme, “Energy Turns the World,” the golden sphere at the top was meant to symbolize the energy of the Sun, while the tower was originally blue to blend in with the sky.
Visit Knoxville is spearheading the project which also includes the installation of a visitor center on the third floor, home to a retail space, visitor information and more. That construction is expected to be done by the end of 2024. The Sunsphere’s exterior makeover is expected to finish by the end of this year.
Both projects will mark Knoxville’s first dip into the Sunsphere Fund. The fund, operated by Visit Knoxville, is aimed at preserving and enhancing the historic structure.
Rebecca Dishman, 25 (Courtesy: District Attorney General’s Office)
Oakridge, TN (WOKI) An Oak Ridge woman pleads guilty Tuesday, September 5 to dismembering a woman and raping two children.
Twenty-five year-old Rebecca Dishman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 36-year-old Jennifer Paxton. She was sentenced to life in prison for murder and an additional 50 years, to be served at 100%, on two counts of Rape of a Child from a subsequent investigation.
Dishman must also cooperate with state prosecutors in the death penalty case against her co-defendant Sean Finnegan.
From left: Rebecca Dishman, Sean Finnegan (Courtesy: District Attorney General’s Office)
Paxton’s dismembered body was found in a freezer in August 2020 during a search of the home Dishman and Finnegan shared.
Tennessee Representative Gloria Johnson is running for U.S. Senate against current Senator Marsha Blackburn next year.
Johnson’s campaign releasing a statement this morning, she is the current Democratic representative for District 90 in Knoxville.
Johnson made national headlines in March and April when she avoided expulsion from the state House for her part in a protest led by the “Tennessee Three” calling for more gun restrictions.
That protest, was after the Covenant Presbyterian School shooting in Nashville and before the recent special session called by Governor Bill Lee on Public Safety in response to that deadly mass shooting.
Blackburn has served in the U.S. Senate since 2019.
A woman is charged with elder abuse after breaking into a Knoxville home.
It happened Friday night on Babelay Road. When officers arrived, the 91 year old homeowner told them that 47 year-old Jennifer Hickey had come to the front porch and threw a soda can at her, hitting her in the head.
She also told police that Hickey had knocked her down and entered the house.
She was able to make it the road and flagged down a passerby who called police who say Hickey said the house was hers now and she belonged there.
Hickey reportedly told officers she had taken Methadone earlier in the day. She is also charged with aggravated burglary.
The investigation into a shooting on Coker Avenue remains on-going and a teen is charged with attempted second-degree murder among other charges.
Knoxville Police were called to the shooting yesterday (Monday) morning and found a man who had been shot at least once, he was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A 17 year-old girl was detained for questioning then charged. Investigators are still looking into the circumstances that led to the shooting.
