Earlier this week, Violent Crimes detectives with the Metro Police Department in Nashville executed a search warrant at an automotive garage in the 5700 block of Cane Ridge Road in Antioch. Investigators were led to the shop after developing detailed information indicating that a Dodge Challenger stolen in Murfreesboro on January 29 was taken to the address, where it was carefully stripped of its parts. Police confirmed in a released statement that evidence was collected from the garage on Wednesday, which will likely be used in court.
Two men, Jeremy Smith, 31, and Tyler Whitney, 29, were arrested early Tuesday morning after they were stopped on Greer Road. When stopped, the two were in a pickup truck pulling a trailer, partially covered by a tarp. Underneath the tarp was what police described as a “stripped” Challenger that was only a shell of the original vehicle.
One of the big questions authorities had was, where did the Dodge Challenger come from? Mr. Smith, who was driving the pickup truck, told detectives upon their approach that he didn’t steal the car; he just picked it up after finding it on the side of the road. Over the course of routine questioning, Smith allegedly changed his story multiple times, according to Metro Police. Finally, he settled on the alibi that claimed he picked up the car from a property on Cane Ridge Road, where the search warrant was served.
Both Smith and Whitney were charged with theft of a vehicle and evidence tampering. The two men remain in custody on a $75,000 bond. While the duo is still behind bars at the Downtown Davidson County Detention Center, detectives continue their investigation into the case involving the car stolen in Murfreesboro and later recovered in Antioch, albeit not completely recovered - so to speak.
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