KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – A Knoxville man is facing several charges after he allegedly strangled a bartender Monday night.
According to court records obtained by WVLT News, deputies responded to a bar on Chapman Highway just before midnight and spoke with a bartender who said 37-year-old Larry Kitts strangled him until he was unconscious and punched him with a closed fist after saying “I love you, but I want to kill you.”
Deputies then found Kitts inside the bar passed out, court records said. When he was awoken and told to put his hands behind his back, he allegedly said “I’m not going to jail.” and resisted arrest before being handcuffed.
Deputies said they reviewed security footage from inside the bar showing Kitts strangling the bartender with both hands, punching him in the face and the bartender falling to the ground with Kitts on top of him.
Kitts was charged with aggravated assault – strangulation, public intoxication and resisting arrest.
