SALISBURY — Just a few days after the new Waffle House was credited with helping to capture a gunman at the Wilco Hess across the street, the restaurant was the scene of a fight early Sunday morning, including three arrests and at least one gun.
Several law enforcement officers eating at the Waffle House on Thanksgiving night responded when a Salisbury man was held up at gunpoint at the Wilco Hess. They corralled the suspect and arrested him.
But a different story unfolded at the 24-hour eatery Sunday morning when a fight broke out.
Donnell Deangelo Adkins, Gregory Eugene Sims II and Dante Marquies Mitchell fought at the restaurant at 1013 E. Innes St., according to Salisbury Police. They were all booked into the Rowan County Detention Center around 6 a.m. and have been banned from going near either Waffle House in Salisbury pending trial.
Adkins, 25, of Scott Road in Salisbury, is in jail under $29,500 bond, charged with simple affray, possession of marijuana, resisting a public officer, carrying a concealed gun and possession of a firearm by a felon, a .45-caliber handgun.
Adkins also was charged with failing to appear on a second-degree trespass charge. He was previously convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in March 2011 and was sentenced to 12 to 15 months in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday and Dec. 9.
Mitchell, 23 of Torbush Drive in East Spencer, is in jail under $11,000 bond, charged with attempted assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
He attempted to assault Sims with a .45-caliber handgun, according to police. Mitchell is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
Sims, 21, of Pinewood Avenue in Salisbury, is charged with simple affray and was jailed under $1,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 6.
Sims and Adkins punched, pushed and shoved one another, police said.
The location of the new Waffle House near two fragile inner city neighborhoods was controversial.
Opponents said the 24-hour restaurant would attract more crime, especially after the bars close. But advocates for the well-lit eatery — known as a favorite spot for law enforcement officers to grab a bite — argued the Waffle House would help deter criminal activity.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.