Teen arrested for pulling gun at Chuck E. Cheese, Richland County sheriff says
One teenager was arrested for a violent crime over the weekend after he pulled out a gun at a South Carolina Chuck E. Cheese, and another is facing a charge for driving him away from the scene, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
On Saturday, 19-year-old Richland County resident Tavares McFadden-World was charged with kidnapping, second-degree assault & battery, tampering with evidence and three counts of pointing and presenting, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Fellow 19-year-old Kenzie Miller, a South Carolina resident, was charged with obstruction of justice, according to the release.
The charges stem from an incident at the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant/playground/arcade at 1775 Burning Tree Drive, the sheriff’s department said. That’s in Columbia, near Exit 106 on Interstate 26, which is the junction with St. Andrews Road.
Guns out
At about 4:20 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a civil disturbance involving a weapon at the Chuck E. Cheese, according to the release. After speaking with multiple victims and witnesses, deputies learned that McFadden-World had pointed a gun at three different people, the sheriff’s department said.
One victim told deputies that before McFadden-World pulled out the gun, he was staring at the table where two of the victims were sitting, according to an incident report. The victim said he put his head down before noticing that everyone else at his table had stood up as McFadden-World approached with the gun in his hand, the incident report said.
Information about why McFadden-World pulled out the gun and specifically targeted these victims was not available.
McFadden-World pointed the gun at both of the victims at the table, according to the victim’s account to deputies. The victim said he left the Chuck E. Cheese but McFadden-World followed outside, where the teen grabbed the victim’s jacket with his left hand and restricted his movement with the gun in his right hand, according to the incident report. While holding the victim against his will, McFadden-World threatened to kill him, the sheriff’s department said.
McFadden-World got into Miller’s vehicle, and they left the Chuck E. Cheese, the incident report said.
McFadden-World was not the only armed person at the Chuck E. Cheese, according to the sheriff’s department.
Damontre Williams, who told deputies that McFadden-World also pointed a gun at him, responded by flashing his own firearm as McFadden-World and Miller were leaving, the sheriff’s department said.
The confrontation between Williams and McFadden-World happened outside, as the men stared at each other before McFadden-World pulled a pistol from his waistband, according to the incident report. Williams then got a gun from his vehicle and returned as McFadden-World and Miller drove away, the incident report said.
The sheriff’s department said Williams’ gun was taken into evidence. Although he was charged with breach of peace for causing Chuck E. Cheese customers and employees to panic at the business known for children’s birthday parties and celebrations, Williams was released, according to the incident report.
Several unfired bullets were found near the entrance of the Chuck E. Cheese, the incident report said.
No injuries were reported.
Returning to be arrested
While deputies talked with witnesses, one witness saw Miller’s vehicle return to the area, the sheriff’s department said in the release. Deputies detained both McFadden-World and Miller without incident, and McFadden-World confessed to pointing and presenting a firearm at the Chuck E. Cheese, according to the release.
Miller admitted to driving McFadden-World away in her vehicle after witnessing him commit a crime, the sheriff’s department said.
Miller did not answer when asked why she gave McFadden-World a ride, where she took him and what he did at that location, according to the incident report.
Both McFadden-World and Miller were arrested and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said. While McFadden-World remains behind bars, despite bond being set at $75,000 on the combined charges, Miller is not currently listed on the jail’s inmate roster.
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