Around 10:27 p.m. on September 23rd, officers were called to investigate a complaint of gunfire in the 90 block of Broadway Street.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found a man lying in the alley a short distance from a Glock 44 handgun in the center of the alley. Without incident, the man—later identified as William Blake Keffer (09/15/1991)—was taken into custody. Officers found 11 bullet casings while scouting the area.
Officers discovered throughout the investigation, that a bystander tried to check on Keffer after witnessing him fall down a retaining wall in the alley. When the bystander got close to Keffer, he pulled out a revolver and fired a number of bullets into the air and then toward the victim, who ran away and dialed 911.
Arrested:
William Blake Keffer (09/15/1991)
(M) Second Degree Trespass
(M) Assault with a Deadly Weapon
(M) Discharge Firearm in City Limits
(M) Go Armed to the Terror of Public
(M) Carrying Concealed Gun
(M) Assault by Pointing a Gun
Keffer was booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $20,000 (or $2,000 to a bondsman) secured bond issued by a magistrate.
If you have any information about this incident or any illegal gun activity, please contact APD at (828) 252-1110. You can also send an anonymous tip using the TIP2APD smartphone application (search “Asheville PD” in your app store) or by texting TIP2APD to 847411.
Editor's Note: A criminal charge is an accusation, by law, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven in a court of law.