Eric Lee Gaines
Chattanooga Police have made an arrest in a Feb. 6 incident in which a man was severely beaten during a robbery on Lee Highway.
Eric Lee Gaines, 40, of 2803 Curtis St., is charged with especially aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.
Police were dispatched to a Waffle House at 7705 Lee Highway, where they found a man whose head was deformed with major swelling, cuts and bruises to the left side of his face and head. The man was declining medical treatment, though officers on the scene urged him to be treated.
The man said he arrived at the nearby America's Best Inn to visit with a friend. He said while he was there two tall black males entered the room and one was displaying a handgun.
He said the men began beating him, while telling him to give them money. He said he told them he did not have money on him.
The man said he tried to get away, but the men caught up with him and forced him into a car. They drove a short distance to the Motel 6 next door.
He said they forced him into a room and continued hitting him, while saying he had better get them money. The man said he called his grandmother to ask her to bring him money, but she refused. He said the men shut off the phone when she asked if he was in trouble.
The man said he got away again, but the suspect with the gun caught up with him and continued hitting him. He said he was able to go inside the Mapco, where police were called and quickly arrived.
He told police he knew one of the men, who has multiple tattoos, including on his face, as "Eric." Police were able to identify the man as Eric Gaines.
Police gathered video showing the man being chased by two tall black males as well as one in which the man ran into the Mapco.
Two guns were found in a motel room where the man said he was beaten, including one that matched the gun described by the victim.
The victim in the case was taken to the hospital, then was driven to Bradley County, where he had warrants.
In an incident in 2016, Gaines was charged with hitting his ex-wife at a barber shop on MLK Boulevard and was trying to hit barber Virgil McGee.