Stolen Harley Found
Don't mess with my Harley: Theft victim accused of assault
2006-04-13
by Jessica Stith
of The Daily Times Staff
A Maryville man is accused of assaulting two subcontractors who were working on his home after they allegedly attempted to steal his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
A 24-year-old Maryville man told Blount County Sheriff's deputies that as he was passing a pickup Monday morning in Monroe County, he noticed his motorcycle in the back of the truck.
He said he realized the driver and passenger in the black Ford F-150 pickup were two subcontractors who had been working on his house, a sheriff's office report said.
The Maryville man said he pulled over and confronted a 42-year-old man and a 23-year-old man, who are both self-employed subcontractors from Madisonville. The two Madisonville men told him they stole the motorcycle from the Maryville man's house and they would take it back if he would not call the police, the report said.
The Maryville man said he followed the two men and upon arrival at his house, he got a gun from a neighbor and shot at the Monroe County vehicle several times, flattening its tires. According to the report, he then assaulted the Madisonville men by hitting them with the gun and punching them several times.
The neighbor, in order to get the three men to stop fighting, fired another gun into the air.
According to the report, both men who took the motorcycle were bleeding about the face and head but refused any medical treatment. The 42-year-old man who admitted to taking the motorcycle said he opened the unlocked garage door at the Maryville man's residence, then he and his fellow subcontractor took the Harley. They said they were taking it to Monroe County where they live.
The 23-year-old Maryville man retrieved his motorcycle from the back of the truck, and both guns were taken by officers around 7:30 a.m. Monday for processing, according to the report.
Blount County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Marian O'Briant said the incident is being investigated by detectives and that charges are pending and will likely be taken to a grand jury.