Memphis man shoots teen who refuses to pull up saggy pants
A Memphis man angered by two teenagers who would not pull up their sagging pants shot one in the rear and faces aggravated assault charges.
On Saturday, police charged Kenneth E. Bonds, 45, with two counts of aggravated assault, according to a court affidavit.
Bonds was released Monday from the Shelby County Jail on $25,000 bond.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, two young men ages 16 and 17 were walking to buy candy on Whiteside Cove near Shelby Drive and Tulane in Whitehaven, the court document said.
Their pants were sagging in a style that has drawn national criticism from figures including Georgia activist "General" Larry Platt -- who sang "Pants on the Ground" on "American Idol" -- and President Barack Obama, who spoke about them when he was a candidate on MTV days before his 2008 election.
From a yard in the 4400 block of Whiteside, Bonds began yelling at the pair to pull their pants up.
Initially, both teens ignored him, according to a police report.
Bonds then called the youths a derogatory word for gay men. He added, using profanity, that he was a grown man and that they should do what he said.
Both teens told police they responded by calling Bonds a "fat ass" who needed to shut up.
Bonds walked into a house and the pair walked off for candy at the "candy lady's" house.
When the young men emerged from buying candy, Bonds appeared with a semiautomatic handgun.
As the pair ran away, Bonds fired several shots, hitting the 17-year-old in the buttocks with a bullet that exited his thigh, according to the affidavit. The young man was treated first at Methodist South Hospital and then at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
Bonds admitted to shooting the youth, police said in the affidavit.
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