Ringgold man charged in rape attempt case

photo Kelvin Ryan Garner

Police say a Ringgold, Ga., man broke into a stranger's house and tried to rape her hours into the new year.

Kelvin Ryan Garner, 26, of 7 Heppner Lane in Ringgold told officers he didn't remember the incident. He doesn't know the victim, and the victim doesn't know him. He just remembers drinking a lot on New Year's Eve, according to a Ringgold police incident report.

The victim gave investigators this account: Around 1:30 a.m., she awoke inside her Springbrook Drive apartment to the sound of a crash. Then, she saw Garner walk into her bedroom.

He asked who she was and began tugging at her bedsheets, trying to rip them off. Then he tugged at her clothes, trying to take those off, too.

He rubbed his hands against her legs. He tried to hug her. He asked if she knew who his mother was.

When she said no, he punched her in the chest.

"I'm going to kill you!" he said, according to the incident report. "You know that?"

He pointed to a dress in her closet. Do you know what's behind that, he asked. No, she said.

He punched her chest again.

She begged him to stop, and he apologized. He asked for a hug. This time, she obliged, but this made him angrier.

"Stop leaning on me," he said. "Stop digging your fingernails into my skin."

She reached for the phone, tried to call 911, but Garner pulled her away. Soon after, though, officers arrived. Earlier in the morning, Garner banged on the door of one of the victim's neighbors. That person called 911.

When officers arrived, they found Garner in the victim's bed, spread across the 24-year-old woman. Police charged Garner with six crimes, including battery, attempt to commit rape and hindering a person making an emergency call.

He remained at the Catoosa County Jail without bond Friday night.

On Jan. 2, a day after his arrest, Garner met with police to recount the night. He told them he went to a friend's house on Heppner Lane to celebrate the new year. He drank half a bottle of Jack Daniel's by himself and split the other half with his friend.

He can remember watching TV at 11:54 p.m. on Dec. 31. But his memory stops there.

If he saw the ball drop in Times Square, he told police, he doesn't recall it.

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