MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) – Two guns stolen from Nashville were recovered in Mt. Juliet during two separate traffic stops within a 24-hour period.
So far this year, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said 734 guns have been stolen from vehicles in Davidson County.
Time and time again, MNPD warns community members about the frequency with which criminals break windows and steal guns left in cars.
"These criminals do cross borders quite frequently," said Deputy Chief Tyler Chandler with the Mt. Juliet Police Department (MJPD).
Chandler told News 2 that in the past six months, MJPD has recovered 46 guns involved in criminal activity, the majority of which are from Nashville.
Over the course of 24 hours, officers made two traffic stops on Golden Bear Gateway for window tint violations, both of which resulted in arrests and the recovery of stolen firearms.
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, MJPD said two men were arrested for possession of a Glock handgun that had been stolen from a vehicle near Buchanan Street and 9th Avenue in North Nashville in May 2023, as well as drug charges. Officials identified the suspects as 28-year-old Christopher Cannon, of Goodlettsville, and 29-year-old Tevin Blake, of Hermitage, who was wanted for failure to appear on a previous charge stemming from 2022.
Then, during the traffic stop on Thursday, Oct. 24, another young man was taken into custody after Mt. Juliet authorities said they found a handgun that was stolen from a vehicle in the TriStar Summit Medical Center parking lot in Hermitage. D'Marion Harney, 18, of Goodlettsville, was reportedly charged with theft of property and drug offenses.
As of this writing, all three suspects are still being held in the Wilson County Jail, with bonds ranging from $2,000 to $6,000, according to the Wilson County Sheriff's Office
"Our vehicles are not gun safes. We need to keep our guns locked up inside a safe or some type of safekeeping inside of our our residence," MNPD Lt. Brandon Tennant said in February.
Back in February, News 2 sat down with Nashville authorities after they created a special initiative to crack down on vehicle and gun thefts. Since then, MNPD has recovered 466 stolen vehicles and 174 guns, according to recent data from police.
"Our vehicle burglary and our guns stolen from cars have dropped nearly 40, 50 percent, so that's a drastic drop," Chandler said.
According to Chandler, the theft of guns from vehicles used to be an issue in Mt. Juliet before a license plate recognition system was put in place three years ago.
"We had to find a way to stop that crime, and if they're bringing stolen cars in, if that’s their mode of transportation, and a license plate reader can detect stolen cars, then that was our solution and that solution has worked and we rarely have incidents where we have guns stolen from cars," Chandler said.