A Grundy County man was granted over $750,000 this week in Coffee County Circuit Court stemming from an alleged physical assault by a Southern Inn employee and guest last year in Manchester, TN.
Court documents say Robert Luna of Grundy County was living at the motel to be closer to his job driving to Murfreesboro when he was assaulted one day in August 2024. Luna filed the suit after claiming a drunken maintenance man, Terrance DeShields, pulled a gun on him. The suit also claimed Luna was jumped and choked by a hotel guest, then assaulted by the two in an attack that sent Luna to the hospital with internal injuries as well as loss of teeth.
According to court reports, the assault was on Luna after he had come out in front of DeShields while he was going to nearby Wendy’s Restaurant. DeShields reportedly pulled a handgun and threatened Luna upon his return. Luna punched the gun out of his attacker’s hand and tackled him to the ground.
While the beating was going on, DeShields’s friend, Southern Inn resident Josef Jones, snuck up and choked Luna out from behind. The two were arrested and charged with aggravated assault when the incident took place.
The suit further claims that the hotel did not have a working lock on Luna’s door, that the fixtures were missing or broken, and that bed bugs were in his room.
In a default judgment, Luna was awarded $754,600 in compensatory damages against the defendants, as well as non-economic damages and court costs.
