A man who was shot while allegedly attacking his girlfriend earlier this month at her family home in Sautee is now behind bars. Deputies booked Justin Kyle Rachal of Winterville in the Habersham County Detention Center on Saturday, October 16.
Rachal spent nearly two weeks at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville before going to jail. He was admitted under guard on October 5 after his girlfriend’s father shot him in the abdomen to stop the attack, investigators said.
Officers charged the 26-year-old Rachal with felony aggravated assault and false imprisonment. They also charged him with misdemeanor third-degree child cruelty.
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Investigators did not charge the shooter, 55-year-old Cory Merchant, because they say the shooting was justified. They determined Merchant shot Rachal to protect his daughter and a young girl who also lived at the residence.
