AK-47-wielding Tennessee man demands pizza, police say

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man could be facing serious jail time after briefly holding employees of a Knoxville Little Caesar’s restaurant hostage, demanding pizza at gunpoint.

According to WATE, officers responded Nov. 5 to the pizza parlor, where witnesses said the suspect, later identified as Charles Doty Jr., became enraged when he was told that his order would take 10 minutes to prepare.

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Doty, 63, then left the establishment and returned with the rifle, which he pointed at employees, and demanded his pizza immediately, the TV station reported.

Another customer in the store who had already received their order handed Doty her pepperoni pizza, and he fled the scene before police arrived, WATE reported.

WVLT-TV spoke to former employee Kimberleigh Murrell who was working during the incident.

“(Doty) comes walking back in and hasn’t pointed at anybody yet. I was taking care of a female customer and she was just getting ready to leave, then he gets the gun. He pointed at me saying where is my d--- pizza. I want my pizza,” Murrell said, describing her emotions at the time as “honestly, fear and disbelief.”

“Like, I was shocked it was over a six dollar pizza,” she added.

Meanwhile, surveillance video showed Doty threaten an employee who was attempting to leave from his shift. That victim then fled the lobby to the back room of the business and called 911, WATE reported.

Doty was later charged with four counts of aggravated assault and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, the TV station reported.

According to findlaw.com, especially aggravated kidnapping is a Class A felony punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison and a maximum fine of $50,000 in the state of Tennessee.

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