Newport Man Arrested for Sexual Battery of Teen

(NEWPORT, Tenn.) -- A Newport man was arrested Monday night and charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

Richard Sullivan, 40, surrendered to police at the Cocke County Jail. He is charged with sexual battery of the teenage daughter of his live-in girlfriend. The girlfriend was also arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect.

Police learned of the abuse when the girl and her mother had gone to Newport Medical on Sunday, where she told doctors that she had been sexually abused. Doctors alerted the authorities, who soon arrived to arrest the mother.

Officers then went to Sullivan’s home at 4 a.m., but he slammed the door shut and would not let them in. After a couple hours of attempted negotiation and planning, officers prepared to break into the home. When they did so, they found Sullivan had fled.

He later contacted 911 dispatchers, who instructed him to turn himself in, which he did at 8:45 p.m.

There was a 13-year-old girl in the house as well. Investigators are looking to see if this girl, who suffers from mental disabilities, was victimized as well.

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Haslam Signs Bill Lowering Food Tax to 5 Percent

(VONORE, Tenn.) -- Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill Monday that lowered the state portion of sales tax on groceries to 5 percent, the culmination of a two-year effort.

The previous sales tax rate on groceries was 5.25 percent. That rate was set in 2012 when the General Assembly passed the bill, which was regarded as the first step in reaching the 5 percent goal.

“The sales tax on food impacts all Tennesseans, and I applaud the General Assembly for passing this important piece of legislation this year,” said Haslam at the ceremonial signing at Sloan’s Grocery in Vonore, Tenn.

The reduced tax rate does not apply to prepared foods such as a meal at a restaurant, candy, alcoholic beverages or tobacco.

The legislation goes into effect July 1.

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City Explores Possibility of Cultural Center at World’s Fair Park

(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) -- The City of Knoxville is looking into the possibilities of transforming World’s Fair Park into a cultural center.

Mayor Madeline Rogero announced Monday that the possibilities are being explored by the city in conjunction with the University of Tennessee.

A team has been selected to determine the feasibility and support of the concept.  Bill Lyons, Deputy to the Mayor and Chief Policy Officer, has been appointed to co-chair the group, with Jan Simek, a professor at UT. The team consists mainly of World’s Fair Park stakeholders.

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Armed Man Steals Bank Deposit

(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) -- An armed man stole a bank deposit from a man making a nighttime deposit for his employer, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

The victim, a 26-year-old employee at a gas station, was making a deposit for his employer around 11 p.m. Sunday at the First Tennessee Bank branch, located at 4935 Millertown Pike. That’s when an unknown man approached him with a drawn handgun. The victim reportedly dropped the deposit bag and the armed man grabbed it and ran away.

The armed man could not be identified or completely described by the victim, and police have not said if the robbery was caught by surveillance cameras at the bank.

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Union County Deputies Find 335 Pounds of Pot During Traffic Stop

(MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn.) -- What started out as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into something else entirely when Union County Sheriff’s Deputies discovered more than 300 pounds of marijuana inside the vehicle, according to The Knoxville News Sentinel.

Deputies pulled over a Nissan truck shortly before 6 a.m. Monday alongside state Highway 33 on suspicion that the driver was drunk. Upon walking up to the side of the Nissan, the officer noticed several packages in the back of the car.

With the help of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a K-9 named Ceazor, deputies ended up finding 15 packages, containing 335 pounds of pot inside the car.

The driver, 26-year-old Martin Urrutia Olmedo, was charged with manufacturing, delivering, selling and possessing drugs. The original hunch that got him pulled over turned out to be right, as he was also charged with a DUI and driving without a license.

Olmedo is expected to appear in court Thursday.

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