Newport, TN (WOKI) A suspect is arrested and facing multiple charges in connection to an armed robbery Tuesday at a gas station near Newport.
Officials with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office say deputies responded to the robbery at the Seven Springs Market at 550 Wilton Springs Road where the victim told investigators that the suspect, later identified as 51-year-old Jy Sepulveda, went into the gas station and brought an RC Cola to the cash register.
Sepulveda allegedly then ran around the counter with a knife in hand and told the victim to get into the bathroom and not come out before fleeing the scene.
According to the sheriff’s office, Sepulveda is facing multiple charges to include aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft of property. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Kingston man is facing life in prison after being convicted Wednesday of multiple federal child sex crimes.
Department of Justice officials announcing 34-year-old Christopher Edward Allen was convicted of nine counts involving child pornography and attempting to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Specifically, the nine counts include:
Three counts of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity
One count of producing child pornography
Two counts of attempting to produce child pornography
Two counts of transporting a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct
One count of transferring obscene material
The DOJ said Allen used various social media platforms to find minors online and, once identified, baited them over social media to engage in “unlawful sexual activity” and to “send nude images of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct.”
There were two instances where Allen paid the minors for nude images, which he later emailed to himself using the minor’s name as the subject line, the DOJ said. He also sent sexually explicit images of himself to minors.
In another instance, Allen met a minor in person at his workplace, where he added them to one of his social media accounts. Later that night, he talked with the minor through social media.
Authorities found out about the messages and, with consent from the minor’s parents, assumed the minor’s identity on social media two days later, according to the DOJ.
Allen was later arrested at a Kingston park after arriving with the intent to meet the minor.
Sentencing for Allen is scheduled for February 6, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.; he faces a sentence of up to life in prison.
Christopher Allen was arrested at a Kingston park after arriving with the intent to meet a minor. (Credit: Frankly Media)
Tennessee (WOKI) – It’s been three months since the City of Knoxville and the Tennessee Department of Transportation shut down the Gay Street Bridge after a routine inspection found a steel beam was compromised making the bridge unsafe.
A report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association shows that three of Tennessee’s most traveled bridges that are structurally deficient are in Knox County.
The spans of I-40 that crosses over University Avenue and 17th Street are traveled by around 140,000 vehicles a day.
The same report shows more than 7,000 bridges are in need of some kind of repair or replacement in Tennessee to the tune of $6.1 billion. TDOT’s budget for this fiscal year is just under 3 billion.
UPDATE 9/27/24 (WOKI – Gatlinburg) The National Park Service continues to monitor conditions from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. While the park did not receive the forecasted peak winds overnight, the center of the tropical storm is predicted to pass over the park mid-morning today. A high wind warning remains in effect through 8 p.m. tonight. A flood watch remains in effect through this afternoon.
The park is implementing the following closures:
Little River Road from Elkmont to the Townsend Wye & Wear Cove Gap Road (new)
Lake View Drive (new)
All visitor centers
Balsam Mountain, Cataloochee, and Big Creek campgrounds
The Deep Creek between Indian Creek Bridge and park boundary (closed to all water activity)
The park has received over 8 inches of rain at Newfound Gap and an additional 2-4 inches are possible. Flash flooding is possible.
Risks of flooding, high winds, downed trees, landslides and power outages remain, and visitors are encouraged to reschedule their trips. Backcountry travel is not recommended due to the unpredictability of creek crossings. The park will evaluate conditions throughout the day to determine the potential for reopening some areas as weather and safety allow. No areas are expected to reopen today. Additional updates will be on the park websitehttps://www.nps.gov/index.htm as available.
Event canceled
The Townsend Heritage and Bluegrass Festival has been canceled. It was scheduled for today and tomorrow and this marks the first time the 30-plus-year-old festival has been completely canceled. Organizers say they are deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s event but the safety of the attendees and everyone involved comes first.
Original story: Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas should expect road closures and event cancellations in preparation for expected weather impacts from Hurricane Helene.
GSMNP officials say some park locations have already received 4-5 inches of rainfall since Wednesday ahead of the tropical storm event with another 4-5 inches predicted on the Tennessee-side of the park through Friday.
A number of roads are now closed both in Tennessee and on the North Carolina-side of the park:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Newfound Gap Road/US Highway 441 will close Thursday at 2 p.m.
Sugarlands, Oconaluftee and Cades Cove visitor centers will close Thursday at 3 p.m. through at least Saturday morning, weather and road conditions permitting.
In North Carolina, Cataloochee Road, Heintooga Ridge Road, Balsam Mountain Road (Heintooga/Round Bottom/Straight Fork Road), Balsam Mountain Campground and Cataloochee Campground are closed.
In Tennessee, Rich Mountain Road, Greenbrier Road, Upper Tremont Road and Sparks Lane are closed.
Burden Hill Road near Eastgate Road is closed due to flooding.
New Era Road in the area of Dave and Busters is being closed due to flooding.
River Divide Road and Sharp Hollow Road
The gates being closed are located at the Pigeon Forge city limits at the Henderson Road Bridge
Headrick Lead and N Clear Fork Road
New Era Road and Apple Valley Road
Old Valley Road and Waldens Creek Road
Flatwood Road and Pecan Lane
Whites School Road
In addition, all park events scheduled for Saturday, September 28including Mountain Life Festival, Balsam Mountain Volunteer Day and Smokies Service Day are canceled.
In Townsend, impending severe weather has lead local leaders and authorities to cancel this weekend’s Townsend Heritage and Bluegrass Festival.
Coordinators with Blount Partnership, making the cancellation announcement Thursday, say they had spoken with local responders and authorities and decided to cancel the festival out of an abundance of caution.
“While we are deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s event, the safety of our attendees and everyone involved must come first,” said Blount Partnership Communications Director Jeff Muir. “With the saturated grounds and continued rainfall, we could not guarantee a safe and enjoyable environment for our festival-goers.”
The decision marks the first time the 30-plus-year-old festival has been canceled completely. The event was slated for Sept. 27 and 28.
Impending severe weather in East TN prompting road closures, event cancelations. (Pexels)
9/26/24 Update: Event canceled due to severe weather forecast for area.
Officials with Hamblen County Schools making the announcement this (Thursday) afternoon say impending weather has caused them to cancel the training exercise involving the Morristown Police Department and the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department previously scheduled for Friday at Morristown-Hamblen West High School.
No word yet as to whether or not that training event will be rescheduled.
Morristown, TN (WOKI) Traffic delays are expected in Morristown on Friday while the Morristown Police Department and the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department participate in a training exercise.
MPD says the exercise, which will be held at Morristown-Hamblen West High School, will be from 7 a.m. to noon.
Students will not be in school on Friday, but there may be traffic delays in the area.
Training signs, message boards and officers will help direct traffic to minimize delays.
Several law enforcement and other response vehicles will be at the high school for the training.
Hancock County, TN (WOKI) The National Weather Service now confirming that an EF-1 tornado did, in fact, touch down Tuesday evening in Hancock County.
Officials with the National Weather Service say the twister, which occurred five-and-a-half miles east of Sneedville shortly before 6:30 p.m., goes into the record books as the first September tornado for East Tennessee.
Wednesday’s survey crew reporting that the tornado traveled just over 6 miles at 110 miles per hour and was 250 yards wide.
No injuries were reported and snapped trees were the only damage reports received.
Photo showing damage and downed trees after a reported tornado touched down in Hancock County, according to the National Weather Service. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) No one was injured, but a home is a “total loss” following a house fire Wednesday afternoon in North Knoxville.
Crews responding to the home in the 300 block of Chicamauga Avenue found heavy smoke and fire coming through the roof of the residence.
Knoxville Fire Department officials say firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze within 30 minutes of arrival; however, the home suffered significant damage from fire, smoke and water and is a total loss.
KFD says one person and a dog were able to evacuate without injury.
No word yet on what caused the fire.
At the time of the fire, there was one person and one dog in the house, Knoxville Fire said. (Courtesy: KFD)
Knoxville, TN Greek Fest is back for its 45th year hosted by the historic St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Kingston Pike.
The event runs Friday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Sept. 29. Doors open at 11 a.m. both Friday and Saturday and stay open until 10 p.m. Sunday’s hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lygia Karagiozis with the church said this year the festival is featuring new vendors and events. There will also be interactive experiences Karagiozis said will make you feel truly Greek!
“This year we’re actually going to have Greek dance lessons, so you can bust to move out on the dance floor!” Karagiozis said. “And then we also have cooking classes too. So in between our church tours and our dance shows that we have every year, people can go and either learn how to dance or go and learn how to cook a Greek dish.”
All of your favorite authentic Greek foods, desserts and beverages will be available to enjoy. Karagiozis said you’ll also find a plethora of hand-crafted goods and jewelry with a Greek flair.
Tickets are available online and at the door: $3 for day pass, $5 for a weekend pass. Kids 12 and under get in for free.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man has been charged after leaving the scene of a fatal, pedestrian-involved crash that happened during the overnight hours on Asheville Highway.
At just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to the 4100 block of Asheville Highway near Yankee Street, where a currently unidentified man had been struck by a vehicle while crossing the road. The pedestrian died as a result of his injuries.
The involved vehicle, which was described by a witness as a blue sedan, left the scene prior to officer arrival. Through continued investigation and with the assistance of Flock license-plate readers, a vehicle matching that description was identified. Officers responded to the registered address for the vehicle on Holston Drive and found a blue Honda Civic with front-end damage and paint color that matched the paints chips that were found at the scene of the crash.
Officers then detained Abraham Briones, age 28. After questioning Briones, he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a class E felony, and driving without a license.
The crash remains under active investigation by KPD crash reconstruction investigators.
