Category Archives: Local News

Knoxville Man Sentenced after Sexually Enticing Nearly 50 Minors, DOJ Says

Knoxville Man Sentenced after Sexually Enticing Nearly 50 Minors, DOJ Says

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Knoxville man was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of enticement of a child. Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice say 29-year-old Dominique J. Starr was sentenced to 15 years in prison for soliciting nude photos and sex in 2022 from an undercover FBI agent who he thought…MORE

East Tennessee Man Sentenced for Child Sex Crimes

East Tennessee Man Sentenced for Child Sex Crimes

Sevierville, TN (WOKI) A Sevierville man was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to child sex crime charges. Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice say 47-year-old Ronnie Joe Maples was sentenced to 151 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. Federal investigators say Maples and another individual were…MORE

Man Facing ‘Litany of Charges’ after Crime Spree, Knoxville Police Say

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man has been charged with multiple felonies after an early-morning crime spree. Officials with the Knoxville Police Department say 21-year-old Isaiah Shuman was arrested following an incident which began around 2:15 Friday morning at the Half Barrel bar on Cumberland Avenue. Police say Shuman fled the area with a woman in…MORE

TBI Issues Endangered Child Alert for Three Knoxville Children

TBI Issues Endangered Child Alert for Three Knoxville Children

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued an Endangered Child Alert for three Knoxville children. Special Crimes Detectives with the Knoxville Police Department and TBI are working to find 12-year-old Aki-Bakari Warren, 8-year-old Amena Hood and 5-year-old Amirr Warren. TBI says all three children are believed to be with their non-custodial father,…MORE

Mascot Manufacturing Facility Closing, Laying Off Hundreds, State Documents Say

Mascot Manufacturing Facility Closing, Laying Off Hundreds, State Documents Say

Mascot, TN (WOKI) State employment leaders are stepping-in to help more than 200 people find a job after an East Tennessee company announced it’s closing its doors. EXEDY America told the state it’s laying off 223 workers, all of them at their location in Mascot, and shutting down by spring. The company’s website indicates at…MORE

Ole Smoky Distillery Takes Title of Official Moonshine of Tennessee Athletics

Ole Smoky Distillery Takes Title of Official Moonshine of Tennessee Athletics

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Tennessee Athletics just got an official beer of the Vols, and now it also has an official moonshine! Ole Smoky Distillery made the announcement Wednesday. Owners say the “partnership perfectly combines [their] mutual commitment to promoting local culture and values with the passion and dynamic energy of college sports.” The deal is…MORE

DA Claims No Charging Decisions Made in Knox County Student Hit-and-Run

DA Claims No Charging Decisions Made in Knox County Student Hit-and-Run

Farragut, Tn (WOKI) The Knox County District Attorney’s office and the sheriff’s department are still considering charges in a hit and run case. According to reports, a 16 year old student was sitting at a Farragut bus stop on Thornton Drive with her legs in the road; a driver turning onto the road, struck the…MORE

Oak Ridge Man Convicted in Murder Case Now Faces Death Penalty

Oak Ridge Man Convicted in Murder Case Now Faces Death Penalty

Clinton, TN (WOKI) An Oak Ridge man, found guilty of several counts in a grisly Anderson County rape and murder case, will now join 44 other men on Tennessee’s death row. Sean Finnegan now faces the death penalty after being convicted of 11 of 13 counts Monday including first-degree murder, rape and abuse of a…MORE

KPD: Two Arrested after Robbing a Red Roof Inn in North Knoxville

KPD: Two Arrested after Robbing a Red Roof Inn in North Knoxville

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Two suspects are in custody following a robbery in North Knoxville. Knoxville Police Department officials say 26-year-old Mackenzie Weaver and 29-year-old Matthew Bryson robbed a victim Monday morning at the Red Roof Inn on Central Avenue. Police say Bryson also assaulted the victim. They were arrested on Chapman Highway a few hours…MORE