Five teenagers were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning, after being suspected of participating in a series of vehicle burglaries in Nashville. According to WSMV, officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department responded to calls at the 2800 block of Elm Hill Pike at around 1:30 a.m.
Having also received a report of a stolen firearm from a vehicle at the Nashville Palace on McGavock Pike, police authorities were on alert for such criminal activity. Spotted by officers near Donelson Pike and Royal Parkway was a Hyundai Elantra, after leaving an area of hotels on Royal Parkway, which matched the suspect vehicle, as detailed by FOX 17. Despite the officers' attempts to stop the vehicle with the activation of their lights and sirens, the driver led them on a pursuit.
The suspects, described by WSMV as two 16-year-olds, two 17-year-olds, and 18-year-old Lecestur Seats, Jr., fled the vehicle after it stopped on Charles E. Davis Boulevard. These individuals sought refuge in a vacant apartment in Tony Sudekum Homes, where they initially refused to come out, compelling officers to enter the apartment to apprehend them.
Aboard the MNPD helicopter that testified to the chase, the teens were tracked to a stop on Charles E. Davis Boulevard. Inside the deserted apartment, which authorities say had been under investigation related to vehicle thefts, "were five firearms, glass breaking tools, flashlights, gloves, and extra pistol magazines," WKRN reported. Additionally, multiple credit cards and identifying documents that did not belong to the registered owner were found in the suspects' vehicle.
During his interview with law enforcement, one of the 17-year-olds admitted to being the driver and was subsequently charged with felony evading arrest, juvenile handgun possession, aggravated trespassing, and possession of burglary tools. The other minors faced charges of juvenile handgun possession, possession of burglary tools, and trespassing. Seats, the only legal adult among them, was charged with four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, aggravated trespassing, and possession of burglary tools. Metro Police are continuing their investigation, indicating that additional charges could be brought against the teens as the probe into their possible involvement in vehicle burglaries and theft progresses.
