A man is behind bars after police say he forced his way into an apartment on Riverside Drive, struck the resident in the head with a handgun and demanded his keys at gunpoint before forcing him outside. Tyler Gallaher, 32, is held at the Knox County Jail on $125,000 bond, facing three counts of especially aggravated robbery, three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and a charge of felon in possession of a weapon.
The allegations are described in an arrest warrant cited by WBIR. The Knoxville Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery at a Riverside Drive apartment last Friday. The victim told investigators that a man he knew as Stormi forced his way inside, according to the warrant.
The warrant says surveillance video showed a white Infiniti SUV registered to Gallaher arrive, followed by a man heading toward the apartment. Later, the footage allegedly showed a man leading the victim outside at gunpoint.
Victim Allegedly Beaten, Forced to Hand Over Keys
The warrant alleges the intruder struck the resident in the head several times with a handgun and demanded his keys at gunpoint. After the resident handed them over, the suspect forced him outside and led him toward a truck in the parking area to retrieve other items, according to the warrant.
The warrant says the suspect left in the white SUV with the victim’s key ring, which included keys to his apartment, mailbox and truck.
Prior Conviction and Custody Status
Court records show Gallaher has a prior 2011 conviction for aggravated robbery. He was booked into the Knox County Jail early Tuesday morning and remains held on the $125,000 bond.
Under Tennessee law, especially aggravated robbery is a Class A felony involving the use of a deadly weapon and serious bodily injury to the victim, according to a 2021 reproduction of the state code. Especially aggravated kidnapping is also a Class A felony; a 2019 version of the statute lists use of a deadly weapon or serious bodily injury among the qualifying circumstances.
A Separate Earlier Knox County Case
A separate case began April 15, 2010, when three defendants took a 66-year-old woman’s purse at gunpoint and forced her into her Chicago Avenue residence, according to the Knox County District Attorney’s Office. The office described the defendants as sentenced. That case involved a different victim, location and number of defendants; Gallaher’s Riverside Drive case remains under investigation, and the allegations against him have not been resolved.
The case remains under investigation, and it was not immediately clear from available records when Gallaher is next scheduled to appear in court.
