Three individuals were apprehended and two loaded firearms were seized by Knoxville Police Department officers this past Sunday, after responding to a report involving a stolen vehicle at a local Wal-Mart on Kinzel Way. According to a release from the Knoxville Police Department, the incident began when a man found his father's stolen KIA Optima, which had been taken earlier from Ashland Avenue.
Upon the vehicle's discovery, the car's owner provided a description of the occupants to the officers—resulting in the swift capture of a 16-year-old male attempting to run near the inside front entrance of the Wal-Mart. While Jarvon Rucker, aged 19, fled across the parking lot before running from officers, was later detained at the nearby Murphy USA gas station. The third suspect, a 17-year-old male, inside the Wal-Mart was taken into custody. Officers, having found the stolen vehicle, which included two loaded guns and a drum magazine packed with .40 caliber ammunition during its search.
All suspects were charged with auto theft and weapons offenses, with Rucker and one of the juveniles also facing charges for evading arrest. As the investigation by Violent Crimes Unit detectives proceeded, Rucker later received additional charges connected to an unrelated carjacking that transpired at Triangle Food Market on Boyds Bridge Pike on May 18, as per the latest updates from law enforcement.
Detailed in the update released today at 10 a.m., "numerous suspects" were involved in the earlier instance, forcibly stealing a Chevrolet Cruz at gunpoint. Found the following day near a house on Sunset Avenue, the carjacked vehicle was abandoned a day after the incident occurred, with investigators continuing to delve deeper.
