Keith RawlsKeith Rawls showed up at the O'Charley's restaurant on Shallowford Village Drive Wednesday afternoon toting a gun and wishing to fight another man over an issue with his "baby mama."
He left the area in handcuffs after walking away from a bizarre incident with a parking lot full of witnesses. And he was not shy about his intentions when talking to police.
Rawls, 22, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and a host of other offenses after several witnesses told police that he initiated a physical altercation that led to him firing a shot from a handgun.
He told police he purchased the handgun on the streets the night before and brought it to the restaurant where 18-year-old Brandon Anderson works to scare Anderson because Anderson had been "talking to and paying bills for his baby mama," an arrest affidavit says.
Initially, Rawls told police the gun fell out of his pocket. Later, he told police he pulled it out to scare Anderson.
Rawls first approached an O'Charley's employee who was outside and asked if Anderson was working, the employee told police.
Unaware of a dispute between the two, the employee told Anderson a man was looking for him.
A "scuffle" then broke out between the two, and at some point the gun fired, according to witness testimony.
Police detained Rawls on McCutcheon Road near the Super 8 Motel where he was walking on foot. Witnesses said he left his keys and gun in the parking lot and tried to return for them but was turned away by employees and witnesses.
When police arrived at the jail with Rawls they were told that a woman had called police to advise that the bullet damaged the side mirror of her vehicle after it ricocheted off the ground.
Rawls is being held at the Hamilton County Jail on $200,000 bond. He will first appear in court Wednesday. In 2013 he was placed on diversion for a charge of theft under $500 and was already scheduled to appear in court next month for a March burglary charge.
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.