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Nashville, TN (WSMV) — Juvenile Crime Task Force officers apprehended a 15-year-old runaway from state custody, but ended up dealing with a lot more than expected.
An investigation took place at Nashville Airport Inn & Suites on Atrium Way where authorities arrested the runaway and found a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his waistband. Police received information prior to their arrival stating the runaway and other juveniles were likely in a room and had guns in their possession.
Officers knocked on the door and found a 15-year-old boy (not the runaway) along with four guns. The boy was arrested on four counts of unlawful possession of a gun by a juvenile.
Police believed the runaway they were originally looking for would show up at the motel, so officers secretly watched the room and the parking lot. Later, a gray Volkswagen Jetta pulled up close to the room where the guns were found.
Officers checked the vehicle’s license plate and determined the Jetta was stolen on June 8 from Riverchase Boulevard in Madison. The runaway, 18-year-old Dontario Graham and a 17-year-old stepped out of the vehicle and officers quickly moved in. They found a pistol in the runaway’s waistband.
Graham surrendered a 9 millimeter pistol with an extended magazine before being taken into custody; the 17-year-old was unarmed.
As Graham was being taken into custody, two other teenagers in the Jetta tried to get away, but could not as officers spiked the car’s tired at the motel entrance. They tried running, but were quickly apprehended. One was identified as 18-year-old Kiyahn Hayes; the other was a 17-year-old who carried a loaded pistol in his front pocket.
The 17-year-old also had the keys to a Hyundai Azera in his possession. Officers found the vehicle in the motel parking lot and determined it had been stolen in Wilson County.
Inside the Jetta, officers found a pistol in the center console, several other sets of car keys, license plates and two iPads. One of the iPads was stolen during a vehicle burglary.
All teenagers are facing several charges, including unlawful gun possession, auto theft and evading arrest.
The 15-year-old runaway apprehended Thursday night was arrested on a charge of armed robbery with a gun last September at the age of 14. The boy was accused of robbing a 10-year-old boy of his mother’s car keys at an apartment complex parking lot.
He was also arrested in November 2018 for trying to steal a car outside a Main Street office building. He was arrested in May of this year for joyriding at 3 a.m.
On June 3, police received word that the runaway, who was in DCS custody on a 90-day pass, ran away from the fast food restaurant where he was working. He was arrested the next day after evading police in a vehicle.
On June 18, while in state custody, the runaway was eating lunch at a Dickerson Pike fast food restaurant. Police say he emptied his tray into the garbage can and ran out the door, not to be seen again until officers found him at the motel Thursday.
The 15-year-old and the other juveniles arrested Thursday are now in detention.
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