KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A man who was charged with bringing an AK-47 into a Little Caesars pizza store and pointing it at employees in November 2021 entered a blind plea on Aug. 23, according to the Office of the District Attorney General.
Charles Douglas Doty Jr. was accused of entering the store on Cedar Bluff Rd. and asking for a pepperoni pizza. He became upset when he was told it would take ten minutes to make. According to records, he demanded a free breadstick order and went outside the store to wait.
When he returned, he had an AK-47 and started pointing it at employees while demanding his pizza immediately. An individual in the store at the time was holding a pepperoni pizza they had ordered and gave it to Doty, according to records.
Doty pleaded blind to four counts of aggravated assault. By pleading blind, he effectively entered a guilty plea without accepting the recommended sentencing. Instead, his sentence will be determined by the court at a sentencing hearing on Sept. 29.