04/10/2026
This will sound like something straight from the old school radio show on 103.5, John Boy and Billy's "dumb crook news" .....but its real and it happened here!
In the late hours of Thursday night (April 3rd) and early Friday morning (April 4th), Mr. Lucas Matthew Ward of Lafollette, TN attempted to break into a residence on South Carson Street in Oneida. First off, breaking into ANYONE’S residence is a very stupid decision that is not only morally wrong, but also against the law. SO, what makes this even stupider you ask, it is that fact that Mr. Ward attempted to break into a residence, in which an employee of the Oneida Police Department lives at and was currently home. We are not sure how the defendant expected this to go down, but we imagine attempting to break into anyone's house would be risking your own safety, let alone attempting to break into the home of an employee at the local police department… is beyond us!
The victim contacted the police department to advise them someone was attempting to break into the back window of their house. K9 Officer Kyler King was in the remote vicinity and responded very quickly to find Mr. Ward standing in the back yard staring at the house. Mr. Ward was immediately taken into custody without incident. Mr. Ward left the Myrtle Recovery Center which is very close vicinity to the victims house. He gave the statement that "I tried to break into the back window because I knew a cop lived there and I wanted to get into the house to talk to him." In his attempts, Mr. Ward ended up damaging 2 windows and screens at the residence. Mr. Ward was placed under arrest and transported to the Scott County Justice Center with charges of Aggravated Criminal Trespass and Vandalism.
Grandpa always said, play stupid games, win stupid prizes....thankfully his prize is only getting a stay at the Scott County Justice Center, where they offer semi- low comfort beds, rooms with bright lights, 1 small window, and as clean as you want lavatories for your use..and no, you wont find the food on yelp! The safety of our citizens is a very high priority of ours at the Oneida Police Department, which is what every police department goal is! If you observe ANYTHING out of the ordinary, we encourage you to contact us at 423-569-4255 or 911! Its all of our jobs to do our part, in order to help keep our neighborhoods safe and to watch over our neighbors! Our officers are here to serve and protect, and just sometimes we get lucky that the people who decide to break the law, aren't doing it in the smartest of ways. Our advice: IF you want to speak to someone, going through their windows isn’t the proper way! How about this, call me crazy, call me dumb…but how about knocking on the front door?
