CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Police have arrested a suspect in the Jan. 23 shooting at a Waffle House in Clarksville. It’s the same man who was out on bond after being indicted by a grand jury this summer on a first-degree murder charge.
On Tuesday, Clarksville Police arrested 28-year-old Mark Austin “Bubba Rachi” Ellis for involvement in the shooting at the Waffle House, 1683 Ft. Campbell Blvd., according to police spokesman Scott Beaubien.
In the incident at Waffle House, three people standing outside the diner were shot, with one of them critically wounded. The other two had injuries that weren’t life-threatening. Several others who were in the diner were injured when hit by shards of glass.
On Tuesday, when police served the arrest warrant, they found that Ellis had a loaded firearm and a felony amount of narcotics, Beaubien said. Ellis has a prior violent felony conviction, and Tennessee law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm.
Murder charge
Ellis was indicted by the July 2021 grand jury for a homicide in June 2018, when a woman was shot while her two children were strapped in car seats.
Officers found the car off the roadway in a field, according to previous Clarksville Now reports. Inside the car they found Taren Lyles, 22, in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound, and her toddlers in the car.
After criminal investigation, Ellis was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment and weapons charges.
He was arrested on July 22, and made bond in August while awaiting trial, Beaubien said.
New charges
Ellis now faces two new charges of a felon in possession of a firearm. He has also been charged with possession for resale (narcotics), simple possession/casual exchange and unlawful drug paraphernalia. He has a federal detainer, which means he is scheduled to be transferred into federal custody, Beaubien said.
The investigation of the Waffle House shooting is ongoing, and no further information has been released.
Anyone with information or additional video footage is asked to please contact Detective Luebke, 931-648-0656, ext. 5645. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward, call the Clarksville Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Tipsline 931-645-8477, or go online and submit a tip at P3tips.com/591.