KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A Knoxville man will face trial for killing two men on the same morning in May in downtown Knoxville.
Robert Scruggs, 29, was indicted Oct. 2 by a Knox County grand jury on 15 counts including first-degree murder, felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, carjacking, stealing a firearm and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Scruggs, who has a lengthy criminal record in Knox and Monroe counties, is due in court Oct. 23. He's being held in jail in lieu of more than $2 million bond.
Authorities say Scruggs shot and killed Claude "Sampson" Johnson the morning of May 18 at Anderson Automotive and Towing on Cooper Street. He took Johnson's gun and vehicle and drove nearby to 418 Broadway near Knox Area Rescue Ministries.
On Broadway he shot and killed Dennard Davis in cold blood, police allege.
Security camera footage showed Scruggs walk up to the victim, raise his leg and shoot Davis from a gun inside his pocket. When they detained him, police noticed a bullet hold in Scruggs' pants from where he'd fired the gun.
In Monroe County, he was at the time awaiting prosecution after being charged in 2023 with theft, auto burglary, vandalism and aggravated criminal trespassing, records show. In January, Scruggs failed to show up for a hearing in the case and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to Monroe County records, Scruggs in January 2023 stole a man's Ford F-150. He also burglarized a towing company in Monroe County, the records state.
Scruggs also has an arrest record for thefts and other crimes dating to the 2010s.
In Knox County, he's previously been arrested for counts that include assault, trespassing, resisting arrest and theft.
Four days before the killings, he was arrested after he was spotted squatting in a vacant Clinch Avenue apartment. Evidence indicated he'd broken into the apartment, records show.