A 24-year-old Tennessee man, accused of killing a bar owner after being kicked out of the establishment, claimed he "accidentally" fired several shots near the establishment after falling into a "large ditch" and killed the owner when he came to confront him. William Charles Thomas Sullivan was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of Randy Croft, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the McMinn County Sheriff's Office, deputies, as well as personnel with the Athens Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, on the night of Friday, Sept. 19, responded to reports of a shooting at the Double CC Bar and Grill in the 1000 block of Highway 30 West.

Authorities said the deadly encounter took plac

See Full Page