A 28-year-old man already barred from owning firearms because of a prior felony drug conviction was found holding an AR-15 rifle in the parking lot of a Madison apartment complex on Sunday, and now faces 14 criminal charges after allegedly trying to flee from officers with the weapon still in his hands.
Metro Nashville Police officers were called to the apartment complex on Cheyenne Boulevard around for a report of a suspicious person with a weapon, according to WKRN News 2. Police identified the man as Chase York, who was found in the passenger seat of a black Mercedes sedan holding the AR-15, per Metro Police. Officers also found York in possession of an airplane-size bottle of alcohol, according to the same report.
According to court documents cited by the station, York refused officers' commands to get out of the vehicle and instead tried to put the Mercedes into reverse while still holding the rifle. An officer broke the passenger-side window and turned off the vehicle to stop York from driving away, per court documents. York then struggled with officers before he was taken into custody, WKRN reported.
A Felony Conviction That Made the Rifle Illegal
York's alleged possession of the AR-15 was not a minor infraction because of his criminal history. Court records show York pleaded guilty in March 2017 in Davidson County Criminal Court to sale of five grams or more of methamphetamine, a Class B felony, for which he was sentenced to eight years, according to the Nashville Criminal Court Clerk.
Under Tennessee law, that prior drug felony strictly bars York from possessing any firearm, including semi-automatic rifles like an AR-15, with no statutory exception made for passengers in a vehicle, per the University of Memphis Law Review. Unlawful possession of a firearm by someone previously convicted of a felony drug offense is classified as a Class C felony in Tennessee, punishable by three to 15 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, according to Byron Pugh Legal. York was booked on felony weapon possession as part of the 14 total charges filed against him.
Assault Charge Carries Mandatory Minimum
York was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a first responder, stemming from his alleged attempt to drive away while officers were trying to take him into custody. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-116 and § 39-13-102, that offense is a Class C felony carrying a mandatory $15,000 fine and a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days in prison, according to FindLaw, meaning a conviction would require York to serve the full 90 days before becoming eligible for release.
Officers secured the rifle at the scene and later turned it in to the Metro Police property unit. York was booked into the Metro Jail, where a bond of $124,500 was set across his 14 charges.
York Already Had Open Cases in Davidson County
The Madison arrest was not York's only pending legal matter. Court records show he had active cases in Davidson County Criminal Court from late 2025 and early 2026 involving drug-related charges, including possession or casual exchange, with one case having been scheduled for trial in the Birch Building in March 2026, according to the Nashville Criminal Court Clerk.
The apartment complexes lining Cheyenne Boulevard in Madison have drawn repeated police attention in recent years. In August 2025, Metro Nashville Police detectives located a 36-year-old homicide suspect at a Cheyenne Boulevard apartment following a fatal shooting, according to Metro Nashville Police. In January 2025, officers were involved in a shooting in Madison while attempting to recover a vehicle stolen during an armed carjacking on Cheyenne Boulevard, per a separate Metro Nashville Police release. The corridor's history with law enforcement stretches back further still — in June 2014, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Metro Nashville Police captured a fugitive who had been on the TBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list inside a Cheyenne Boulevard apartment.
Madison is a suburban neighborhood in northeast Nashville within Davidson County, patrolled by the Metro Nashville Police Department's Madison Precinct, which handles both routine calls and emergency responses for the area's apartment communities. It remains unclear where York obtained the AR-15 or whether he will face additional federal weapons charges, and the outcome of his existing Davidson County drug cases has not yet been determined.
