Chattanooga police continue to search for a man they say is responsible for a shooting early Friday morning behind a bar on Rossville Boulevard.
Empty beer bottles and a few toppled stools littered the backyard of Terry's Lounge at 4010 Rossville Blvd. on Friday afternoon, where police say Cordirrus Jones, 20, shot Derrick Lewis, 28, following a dispute in the bar.
Police have taken out warrants on Jones for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
This is the second shooting with injuries in Chattanooga this year. There were 66 shootings with injuries and 15 shooting deaths last year, records show.
Lewis arrived at Erlanger hospital about 2 a.m. with a bullet wound in his right buttock, said police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Royval. He initially told officers that he was shot in a drive-by shooting in the 4100 block of Fagan Street.
But he later changed his story, telling police that he had been at Terry's Lounge, where he had gotten into an argument with a man he knew as Cordirrus Birt. Authorities said "Birt" is an alias Jones has used before.
The argument ended, and Lewis said he went out back to talk on his cell phone. Jones followed Lewis outside, pulled a handgun, then shot Lewis from behind, according to police. Jones fled and police believe he is still armed.
Under the name Cordirrus Birt, Jones has been arrested at least 10 times over the last two years on multiple charges, including aggravated assault and aggravated burglary, according to Hamilton County Criminal Court records. In November, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and his three-year sentence was suspended.
Royval said Jones' criminal history may be longer, but its hard to tell at this point because of his multiple aliases. She said Jones is the name on his driver's license, so the warrant has been issued in that name.
Police said Lewis' injuries were not life-threatening, and officials at Erlanger said Friday afternoon that he was not a patient.
Efforts to reach Lewis and Terry Thorne, owner of the lounge, were unsuccessful Friday.
Terry's Lounge was locked and its barred windows were darkened Friday, but late at night the bar is packed and rowdy, said Mike Wicks, whose house stands behind the club's patio.
"There's always racket and people carrying on back there," Wicks said.
He said the area continually deals with crime, but the main problem he's had with Terry's is the noise.
"They raise cain and go home," said Wicks. "But we have to live here and put up with all of it."
Tometrice Covington, who works across the street at Church's Chicken, frequents Terry's most Fridays and Saturdays and said she's never seen trouble.
"There's not usually fights or anything like that," she said.
But Covington said she's not sure she will go back to the club this weekend.
"If someone got shot there -- I don't know," she said. "I'm definitely going to have to wait and see."
Contact staff writer Kate Harrison at kharrison@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.