Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knoxville police say a Grand Jury finding brings closure to the unsolved 1989 Murder of KPD officer Tony Williams.
The investigation into the 1989 murder of the off-duty officer is officially closed after a Knox County Grand Jury determined there was probable cause to charge a now-deceased individual with his murder.
The Grand Jury returned a finding that there was probable cause to believe that Johnny Warwick, who died last November, committed the first-degree murder of Williams in July of 1989.
Officer Williams was shot and killed while riding his motorcycle on Cherry Street near I-40 while off duty.
The threat made by the Carter Middle School student was unrelated to previous threats made to Halls Middle School by three students at Gibbs Middle School, KCSO said. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Another Knox County middle school student is arrested for making a false school shooting call.
Officials with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office announcing Tuesday that detectives had arrested a 12-year-old Carter Middle School student Monday for making a false school shooting call.
The arrest marks the fourth Knox County middle school student to face consequences for making fake threats in the last week.
KCSO says this incident is unrelated to previous threats made to Halls Middle School by three students at Gibbs Middle School. They are, once again, urging that parents and guardians speak to their children about the consequences of making these threats.
Officials have confirmed one death in what has been called a domestic-related incident. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Rocky Top, TN (WOKI) A man is dead and an investigation is underway following a shooting in Anderson County.
Officials with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office say deputies were dispatched to the 100 block of Cedar Lane in Rocky Top Monday after receiving a call reporting the shooting.
ACSO says 45-year-old Eric E. Patterson was found dead at the scene when deputies arrived; officials determined that the incident was domestic-related.
Detectives from ACSO’s Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the incident.
Knox County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home of United States Representative Tim Burchett over the weekend.
Officials with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office told WVLT News that they did not have a report on hand but do know Sheriff Tom Spangler sent patrol deputies to the house of Burchett (TN-02) after elected officials received an anonymous email saying a man had killed his wife’s lover after catching the two cheating, tied her up, and left her at Burchett’s home.
Someone sent an anonymous email to Knox County Officials of a man dead and woman tied up at the house of U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett.(WVLT)
Sheriff officials said after a search of the property, nothing was out of order, and believed it to be an attempted swatting.
Burchett told WVLT News Monday that he and his family were not home at the time.
Burchett added that it was rare for them to be out around 5 p.m. on a Saturday, but they elected to go for an early dinner.
”It’s very dangerous, it’s a felony. If somebody ends up getting hurt, it’s going to be on them for the rest of their lives, and I’m not messing around. Take that for whatever you want to take it, but I hold my family very close to me,” said Burchett.
The Congressman said the E-911 director called him to confirm his address which tipped him off to the attempted swatting.
”They’re very serious. This is a time when being an elected official is harder than ever, yet we work for the people, and I think this is a cowardly act and one that is disgusting quite frankly,” said Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay.
Jay was one of about 35 people to receive the email.
The FBI has developed a new database for swatting incidents after a recent increase in the act.
Swatting is a form of harassment to deceive an emergency service provider into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address due to the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency. The individuals who engage in this activity use technology, such as caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, and prank calls to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone. Traditionally, law enforcement has seen swatters directing their actions toward individuals and residences. Increasingly, the FBI sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools, and businesses. Another recent trend is so-called celebrity swatting, where the targeted victims are well-known personalities, according to the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. Story courtesy of WVLT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Zakai Zeigler of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is a member of the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 List, as announced Monday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 21st year, recognizes the top point guard in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the list of 10 candidates.
Joining Zeigler on the list are Max Abmas (Texas), Boo Buie (Northwestern), Dajuan Harris Jr. (Kansas), Tyler Kolek (Marquette), Tristen Newton (Connecticut), Jahvon Quinerly (Memphis), Jamal Shead (Houston), Isaiah Stevens (Colorado State) and Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M).
A junior guard for the Volunteers, Zeigler is averaging 10.2 points, 5.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season, while shooting 34.0 percent from 3-point range. In SEC play, his averages stand at 14.3 points and 6.3 assists per contest. The Long Island, N.Y., native has scored in double figures seven times in the last nine games, including a career-best 26-point performance Jan. 10 at Mississippi State.
Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, will open Friday and fans can vote for their favorite players. The top player selections from the fan vote will get an additional vote towards making the next round.
This list will be narrowed down to five in late February. The finalists will be selected in late March and presented to Bob Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2024 Bob Cousy Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone (Power Forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five
For more information on the 2024 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com, as well as follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on Twitter and Instagram.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Greene County, TN (WOKI) A pedestrian dies after a crash on Newport Highway in Greene County Monday morning.
A preliminary crash report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol states a 2005 BMW 325 was heading north on the highway when it crested a hill in the 4900 block.
The report indicates the BMW “was at the crest of a hill when it came across a pedestrian [who] was walking in the middle of the roadway on the double yellow lines”; the individual was hit by the vehicle and died as a result of the injuries.
The THP is working to identify the pedestrian.
The driver of the BMW was cited for driving on a suspended license, no insurance and swapping tags.
Registered to vote? Deadline for March 5, 2023 primary fast approaching in Knox County.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The deadline to register to vote for the upcoming March 5 Presidential Preference Primary and Knox County Primary elections is fast approaching.
Register in person at either Election Commission office, weekdays, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Download a voter registration form at https://knoxcounty.org/election/pdfs/VRF.pdf and mail it to the Knox County Election Commission. Should you choose this method, make sure the form is postmarked by February 5, 2024.
Knox County has over 299,000 registered voters.
For more information on elections, visit www.knoxvotes.org or call 865-215-2480.
TBI News January 29,2024 At the request of 8th Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents continue to investigate the circumstances that led to an officer-involved shooting Sunday night involving officers with the Jamestown Police Department.
Preliminary information indicates that just after 8:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Rugby Avenue in Jamestown following a 911 call reporting a man with a gun. When officers arrived, they encountered an armed individual. For reasons still under investigation, an officer fired, striking the person. The individual was transported to an area hospital for treatment. No officers were injured during the incident.
At this time, this investigation remains active and ongoing. TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General for his further review and consideration. The TBI acts solely as fact-finders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement.
The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to the respective department to answer as it sees fit.
Knoxville Police are investigating a wrong-way, fatal crash on I-640.
It happened early yesterday (Sunday) morning. Officers were called to a multi-car crash on I-640 East near Western Avenue minutes prior to being told about a car traveling in the wrong-direction.
Preliminary investigation says that a Honda sedan was driving west on I-640 East when it hit a Dodge pickup truck head on and was then hit head on by another vehicle.
The man driving the Honda was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and passenger in the Dodge truck were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
