Chattanooga man arrested for attack with assault rifle on girlfriend

Monday, October 31, 2011

photo Richmond Raines

A Chattanooga man is in custody for attempted first-degree murder and a slew of other charges stemming from an intoxicated rant Sunday night, police say.

Richmond Raines, 24, shot an assault rifle into his girlfriend's home, then crashed his car into two other vehicles in the span of an hour, according to police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary.

Raines has been charged with aggravated burglary, reckless endangerment, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, possession of a handgun while under the influence, vandalism/malicious mischief and attempted first-degree murder in the incident, she said.

Police obtained a search warrant for Raines' apartment and car and found three handguns, another rifle, several boxes of ammunition and numerous combat-style knives, Weary said.

Raines' girlfriend, Sarah Johnston, told police he attacked her around 11 p.m. after she called his parents and a crisis hotline to report that he was very intoxicated and making threats to harm himself.

After the phone call, Raines made threatening calls to Johnston, then showed up at the apartment where they both lived. Fearing that he might harm her, Johnston didn't answer the door, Weary said.

After he left the building, Andrew Guinn, one of the couple's neighbors said Raines got in a black Camaro and struck Guinn's PT Cruiser and a Hyundai Accent before speeding away.

Guinn said that, when he went outside to take pictures of his vehicle, he saw Raines running toward the apartment building and come back out a few minutes later with a rifle.

Guinn said he was able to talk Raines into unloading the gun, and police took Raines into custody shortly after, Weary said.

Weary explained police initially showed up at the residence around 11 p.m. on a shots-fired call but couldn't find any disturbance. They returned an hour later after Raines fired the rifle into the apartment, she said.