Murfreesboro police say a trail of license plate reads and public safety camera footage led them to two people accused of holding up a local vape and CBD shop. Investigators allege Javier McClendon, 22, and Frank Foster-Dowell, 26, walked into Murfreesboro Tobacco and Vape on South Rutherford Boulevard on April 9 and took off with thousands of dollars’ worth of CBD and hemp products.
Police: Data Analysts Matched SUV To Robbery Scene
According to a Murfreesboro Police Department news release, crime data analysts at the department’s Real Time Crime Center zeroed in on a vehicle they say was linked to the robbery and placed it near the store around the time of the holdup. Police arrested McClendon and Foster-Dowell on April 10 and charged both with aggravated robbery, the release states.
The department’s post adds that McClendon was booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, then released after posting an $80,000 bond. Foster-Dowell remained in custody with a bond set at $75,000 and hearings scheduled for April 21, according to the same release, which is available from the Murfreesboro Police Department.
How Police Say They Tracked The Suspects
Investigators say analysts lined up license plate reader hits and public safety camera footage to identify a suspect SUV, then narrowed down where that vehicle had been before and after the theft. The Real Time Crime Center combines license plate readers, city cameras, and gunshot detection tools, technology Murfreesboro officials say has already generated plenty of leads.
“In 2024, there were over 400 successes from our Real Time Crime Center,” Murfreesboro Police spokesperson Larry Flowers told NewsChannel 5.
Court Dates And Charges
Both McClendon and Foster-Dowell face aggravated robbery charges in connection with the April 9 incident and are scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on Tuesday, April 21, according to court records and media reporting. Local television coverage reports that officers say the two entered the store at gunpoint, then left in a vehicle with thousands of dollars in CBD and hemp products, a summary carried by WSMV.
As of Monday, Foster-Dowell remained behind bars, while McClendon had posted bond, according to that reporting.
What This Means For Murfreesboro
The case lands as Murfreesboro ramps up its network of public safety cameras and leans more heavily on the Real Time Crime Center for investigative leads, a shift officials argue is already paying off in cases like this one. City leaders recently approved adding more cameras around town to feed the analysts at the crime center, a strategy detailed in reporting by NewsChannel 5, and police say those tools were a key piece of this investigation.
