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A Sevierville convenience store owner was the victim of an armed robbery early Wednesday morning.
Officers from the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Jimmy’s Market, 2046 Chapman Highway in Sevierville, just after 6 a.m. on July 25, 2018 for a reported armed robbery.
Aftaab Merchant, the owner of Jimmy’s Market, told officers that he parked in his usual parking spot on the left side of the store. He got out of his car and started walking towards the entrance when he remembered he forgot his phone in the car. He walked back to his car and that is when an assailant allegedly pushed him from behind against his driver’s side door and placed a gun against his back. The suspect then ordered Merchant to get on the ground, and once there told him to give up his wallet.
A passerby in the parking lot of the storage units next door to Jimmy’s Market noticed something amiss and drove over to where Merchant was on the ground. He realized what was happening and honked his horn. The suspect took off running. The witness described the suspect as wearing a black hoodie with the hoodie pulled up and holding a black semi-auto handgun. Neither the witness nor Merchant could provide a more detailed physical description or direction the suspect fled.
Deputy Watts deployed his K-9 on a track that led across Chapman Highway from the incident to the woods around 2069 and 2071 Chapman Highway but was unable to locate the suspect, who got away with Merchant’s black wallet containing his driver’s license, an undisclosed amount of cash, a debit card and a credit card.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information should contact the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office at 865-453-4668.
