A man wanted by the FBI in Florida on an arson charge flagged as terroristic activity was taken into custody in Lebanon on Tuesday after a license plate reader alerted officers to his vehicle.
According to WSMV, the Lebanon Police Department's SafeNet system tagged a stolen vehicle, triggering a search across a broad area. Officers eventually spotted the vehicle heading northbound on Highway 109, pulled it over, confirmed the driver was wanted on a nationwide extradition warrant, and arrested him.
The vehicle had briefly passed through Mt. Juliet earlier Tuesday, but police there said they were unable to find it before it left the city. Lebanon police credited both the quick response and the tech backup, saying they were “grateful for our officers’ quick and professional work” in making the arrest, according to WSMV.
Lebanon's License Plate System Has Become A Repeat Arrest Tool
This is not the first time SafeNet has helped Lebanon officers zero in on an out-of-area case. In March 2025, WSMV reported that the system led police to a stolen pickup, an arrest, and the recovery of drugs and paraphernalia.
The technology is also part of a broader trend. A survey of departments across the state found that about two-thirds of 53 responding police agencies were using automated license plate readers, with interest in the systems continuing to grow, according to the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service.
