Crime briefs: Man killed in crash on Old Hickory Boulevard

Police say this man is a suspect in convenience store robberies.Courtesy / MNPD

Detectives work to ID convenience

store robbery suspects

East Precinct detectives are working to identify two young men suspected in the following three convenience store robberies:

• Friday at 9 p.m. at Mini Market, 722 McFerrin Ave.;

• Thursday at 10 p.m. at Petra Express, 766 Douglas Ave. (attempted);

• June 10 at 10:30 p.m. at Best Price Beer & Tobacco, 2900 Gallatin Pike.

Both suspects are young Black men; one has a tattoo on his right inner forearm, and the second is armed with an AK-47 style pistol. Detectives also want to identify a woman who was present at Friday night’s robbery at the McFerrin Avenue market and is wanted for questioning.

Anyone who recognizes the two men or woman from the surveillance photos is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.

— Staff Report

17 arrested in undercover

sex trafficking operation

Police say a suspect in convenience store robberies has a tattoo on his right inner forearm.Courtesy / MNPD

A two-day undercover operation by MNPD human trafficking detectives, with the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, on Thursday and Friday resulted in the arrest of 17 men after authorities say they agreed to pay for sex with an undercover officer who presented herself as being 16. The following men are each charged with trafficking for a commercial sex act:

• Chhatra Bhujel, 35, of Nashville;

• Terrance Green, 41, of Smyrna;

• Robert Ambrose, 63, of Bon Aqua;

• Shontez Brown, 45, of Notasulga, Alabama;

• Joshua Haines, 26, of Dowelltown;

• Rex Stone, 49, of Lebanon;

• Eleazar Ramirez, 35, of Smyrna;

• Adolpho Ramirez, 38, of Crossville

• Barry Gardner, 35, of Nashville (also charged with cocaine and gun possession);

• Dwayne Small Jr., 23, of Nashville;

• Jack Davenport, 24, of Nashville;

• Jaykumar Patel, 21, of Murfreesboro;

Police say this woman present at a Friday night convenience store robbery is wanted for questioning.Courtesy / MNPD

• Sourabh Verma, 37, of Franklin;

• Michael Corsaro, 46, of Hendersonville;

• Fredy Padilla, 36, of Nashville;

• Byombe Issa, 30, of Bowling Green, Kentucky;

• Abraham Sanchez, 30, of Clarksville.

Authorities say the men arrived at a hotel in the area of Donelson Pike and Royal Parkway in response to an internet ad. They were arrested after entering a room and exchanging money for sex.

— Staff Report

Man killed in crash on

Old Hickory Boulevard

The passenger killed in Sunday morning’s single-vehicle crash on Old Hickory Boulevard near Westpark Drive in the Midtown Hills Precinct is identified as Joshua Little, 35, of Sylacauga, Alabama.

Metro police say Little was riding east on Old Hickory Boulevard in a 2004 Nissan Xterra SUV being driven by Jillian Bearden, 26, of Lebanon. Bearden said Little had been using heroin and fentanyl and began hallucinating, saying he saw a ghost in the backseat. She said Little was trying to fight off the ghost by stabbing it with a knife. Bearden told officers that she became distracted by Little’s actions and ran off the right side of the roadway. The vehicle struck two trees, killing Little, who was not wearing a seat belt. Bearden, who was wearing a seat belt, was not injured.

As is routine, the medical examiner will conduct toxicology testing on Little’s blood for drug and alcohol content. Bearden did not exhibit any signs of impairment.

This investigation is continuing.

— Staff Report