A dispute over a food order at an Oakhaven restaurant turned violent early Saturday, leaving one man stabbed in the back and another cut on the leg, according to Memphis police. Two brothers, 38-year-old Randy Lewis Brown and 37-year-old Robert Levert Brown, now face aggravated assault charges in connection with the attack, which unfolded after the pair and a woman were escorted out of the business.
Officers responded to a wounding call in the 3500 block of Old Tchulahoma Road around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, as reported by WREG.com. Police said the two men and the woman had entered the restaurant together, and the woman got into an argument with a waitress inside. Restaurant staff asked the three to leave, but they refused because they said they had already ordered food.
Confrontation Escalates From Inside to the Parking Lot
An employee eventually escorted the two men and the woman out of the business, and at that point noticed the brothers had knives tucked into their waistbands, according to the Memphis Police Department. That same employee went back inside because food was on the grill, leaving the confrontation to spill into the parking lot between the brothers and the restaurant owner.
The restaurant owner told officers that Robert Brown hit him in the face, then pulled out a knife and swung it at him, cutting him on his right leg. When another man intervened to try to break up the fight, police say Robert Brown stabbed him in the back several times. A witness from a neighboring store told investigators he saw both Robert and Randy Brown holding knives and told them to drop the weapons.
Victims Hospitalized, Brothers Fled the Scene
Memphis police said the man who was cut on the leg was transported to the hospital in critical condition, while the man stabbed in the back was transported in extremely critical condition. Robert Brown dropped his knife during the encounter, which officers later seized, while Randy Brown kept his. The brothers then fled the scene in a white pickup truck.
Police located and arrested Randy and Robert Brown at a gas station on Winchester Road, and both men were later identified in a lineup. Robert Levert Brown's bond was set at $200,000, while Randy Lewis Brown's bond was set at $205,000. Both men were charged with two counts of aggravated assault and are scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Incident Comes Amid Reported Citywide Drop in Violent Crime
The Oakhaven stabbing arrives even as preliminary Tennessee Bureau of Investigation data compiled by the University of Memphis showed the city's reported violent crime rate fell 21.5 percent in the first three quarters of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, dropping from 12,199 offenses to 9,570. The aggravated-assault rate specifically fell 21.6 percent over that same stretch; reported incidents fell from 10,029 to 7,853, while Memphis's overall reported crime rate declined 16.3 percent.
Those figures reflect data from January through September 2025 and do not measure crime trends during the current incident period. Separately, Action News 5 reported that six people were hospitalized after gunfire broke out near another Oakhaven nightclub early Saturday, though the full circumstances of that shooting and any connection to the restaurant stabbing remain unclear.
