KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Knoxville man is facing between three and 10 years in prison after he was convicted of aggravated assault in connection an incident where prosecutors said he pointed a gun at two women while he was intoxicated and on Ambien.
Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen’s office announced on Wednesday that a jury convicted Andrew Eugene Graybeal, 52 of aggravated assault, attempted aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. His sentencing has been set for June 18.
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During the two-day trial, prosecutors told the jury that on March 22, 2024, deputies with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Willow Path Lane after receiving multiple 911 calls. At the home, they found two women in the driveway, and one of the women was taking cover behind a vehicle and crying. Prosecutors explained that the women had run out of the home after Graybeal pointed a handgun at them inside.
The DA’s office said the women told the deputies that Graybeal was inside the home. Graybeal came to the front door of the home but did not cooperate with the deputies’ commands to turn around and put his hands on the wall so they could pat him down. Allen’s office continued to say that when Graybeal was handcuffed, the deputies could see that he was “very intoxicated.”
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The victims also reportedly told the deputies that they were in an upstairs room of the home when Graybeal started screaming at them. The DA’s office said Graybeal, who had been drinking and using Ambien, entered the room and pointed a handgun at the women. While he was on the phone with 911, Graybeal said there was an intruder in his home, prosecutors explained. One of the victims responded that she was not an intruder, at which is when Graybeal pointed a handgun at both women and said they needed to leave the house, a release from the DA’s office said…