An Athens, Tennessee, man is behind bars on a $500,000 bond after being charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly fired a car, leaving two wounded, including a 15-year-old girl.
Shyheim Stephon Benton, 27, is accused of opening fire around 10 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the Athens Police Department. Police officers responded first to the parking lot of North Athens Baptist Church on Tellico Avenue, where gunshots were reportedly heard, and then they went to an address a couple of blocks away on Riddle Street.
(READ MORE: McMinn County man charged with second-degree murder in church fire)
McMinn County Justice Center / Shyheim Stephon Benton, 27.There, two of four women riding in a vehicle reported they had been shot at by a backseat passenger in a black SUV driven by a man identified as Chris White, according to an affidavit filed in McMinn County General Sessions Court. None of the four female occupants knew the man who fired the shots, and the driver told authorities she was in the parking lot to pick up some shoes from someone who lives near the church.
Benton is represented by Public Defender Donald Shahan’s office, which is based in Cleveland, Tennessee. There was no answer at the offices in Cleveland or Athens, and McMinn County Assistant Public Defenders Barrett Painter and Tim Wilson did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment.