Man indicted in double shooting at Waffle House

TEXARKANA, Texas — A man accused of shooting two people in the predawn hours of Sept. 14 in the Waffle House parking lot on State Line Avenue was indicted last week by a Bowie County grand jury.

Calvin Marshon Gardner, 30, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A security guard working at the restaurant called police shortly after 3:30 a.m. to report the shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit. The security guard provided Texarkana, Texas, detectives with the plate number of a white Lincoln Navigator.

The guard reported that when the Navigator pulled into the parking lot, “subjects from inside the Waffle House ran outside and he was attempting to separate the individuals by advising them to leave.”

As the guard related information to emergency dispatchers, Gardner allegedly began shooting, striking two men. One of the men was shot in the right side of his chest while the other was shot twice, once in his back and once in his arm. The men were treated at area hospitals.

Gardner turned himself into police within a couple of days of the gunplay, according to earlier reports. Gardner was released from jail Oct. 18 after posting bond. Bail in each case was set at $60,000 for a total of $120,000.

Texarkana, Texas, police previously said they believed the shooting resulted from an altercation that allegedly began earlier in the night at a location in Texarkana, Ark.

Gardner’s case is assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. A date for arraignment has not been set.

Each of the two charges facing Gardner is punishable by two to 20 years in prison.