Tennessee man allegedly threatened pizza store employees with AK-47 over wait time

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (TCD) -- A 63-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly yelled at Little Caesars employees about the wait time for pizza and pointed a rifle at them.

According to WATE-TV, on Nov. 5 at approximately 9 p.m., Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a Little Caesars pizza shop on Cedar Bluff Road about a customer getting angry at employees. The suspect, Charles Doty Jr., reportedly was upset about the fact that it would take 10 minutes to make his pizza, so he asked for free breadsticks.

Doty reportedly went outside to wait for his food, but then reentered the store with an AK-47 rifle and demanded his pizza.

According to court records cited by WVLT-TV, a Little Caesars employee tried leaving the shop, but Doty allegedly asked the employee "where in the hell he thought he was going."

WATE reports that employee went into a back room and called 911.

A woman inside at the same time as Doty reportedly handed her pizza to him to try to get him to leave.

Kimberleigh Smith, who was working at Little Caesars the night of the incident, told WVLT, "He 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 damn pizza?I want my pizza.'"

Smith added, "Honestly, fear and utter disbelief. Like, I was shocked it was over a $6 pizza."

WATE reports Doty was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping.

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