A Hamilton County General Sessions Court judge has dismissed aggravated assault charges against an elderly East Chattanooga junk dealer who admitted firing at people he believed were stealing from him.
Charles Kenneth Lockwood, 77, has operated the 13-acre junkyard more than 50 years.
In court, he testified that he fired his assault rifle in self-defense while attempting a citizen’s arrest of several Crayton family members led by 28-year-old Montrell Jewoine Crayton, who has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering multiple gunshot wounds in 2009.
The charge against Lockwood grew out of an Oct. 26, 2011, incident on Bragg Street, when he and the Craytons engaged in a violent confrontation that the elderly man said began when he caught them stealing property from the junkyard.
The Craytons, on the other hand, said the fight was over a metal stroller they decided to pick up when they spotted it sitting near – but not in – the junkyard.
Police charged Lockwood with aggravated assault and Crayton with theft and felonious operation of a vehicle. The charge against Crayton was bound to the Grand Jury.
Attorney Neal Thompson said, "Mr. Lockwood who is 77 years old, is greatly relieved. Assistant Attorney General Dave Denny I credit with having both common sense and the knowledge of the law to evaluate this case. He had these cases dismissed before Judge (Ron) Durby this morning. It seems to me the Chattanooga Police department needs to train their officiers to do a better job. And to not take the side of a criminal over the hard-working taxpayers when they arrive on a crime scene. Mr. Lockwood called 911 to notify the police of this crime."
The junkyard incident is not the first time that Crayton, who has a lengthy criminal history, has made headlines.
On July 31, 2009, Crayton was gunned down at the corner of 4th Avenue and East 28th Street around 5 a.m. by two black males who witnesses said fled the scene in a waiting car.
Crayton, who suffered gunshots to the chest and one of his legs, was left paralyzed following the incident. He now uses a wheelchair to get around – a fact demonstrated by the photo of him posted on Facebook.
The disability has not kept him from getting out of the house, however. Just last July, for example, he was featured in a newspaper story as a “first-time participant” in the annual Sports, Arts and Recreation of Chattanooga (SPARC) water sports day held at First Lutheran Church Camp on Possum Creek.
He was accompanied to that event, according to the article, by Nin’Aette Thomas – who, courthouse records indicate, married Crayton this fall, shortly after the alleged theft at the junkyard.