Monthly Archives: April 2017

Franklin Police Lieutenant Celebrated for 25 Years of Service; Lieutenant Rob Lenters Retires

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Franklin Police Lieutenant Rob Lenters bids farewell to a career of service that he started more than 25 years ago. Since his first day on the job, February 3, 1992, Lt. Lenters’ distinguished career has included assignments in Patrol, K9, Criminal Investigations, the Community Oriented Policing Unit, Bike Patrol, Underwater Recovery Team, SWAT, and as the Crisis Negotiation Team Leader. Lenters has held the rank of Officer, Sergeant, and Lieutenant, most recently overseeing Special Operations.

Lt. Lenters said that his most enjoyable moments came during his time as the Department’s Field Training Coordinator. “After joining the FPD in 1992, the Chief challenged me to strive for a legacy,” said Lt. Lenters. “I wanted mine to be the success of this Department’s future leaders, many of whom I had the opportunity to help train. Their success – that’s my legacy.”

Lt. Lenters is a proud graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy and Northwestern University’s Center for Public Service Executive Management Program. “Lt. Lenters has served this Department and our community for the last 25 years of his life,” said Chief Deborah Faulkner. “He has much to be proud of. We will miss him, and wish him the very best in the next chapter of his life.”

Franklin Police Department
Professional, Progressive, Responsive
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Petersburg Man Dies Following I-65 Motorcycle Crash

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Officers were summoned to I-65 South near 840, at 9:50 am, for an injury crash involving a motorcycle. Arriving officers found a severely injured 40-year-old Petersburg, TN man on the ground. Paramedics transported the driver to Nashville’s Vanderbilt Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

For reasons unknown, the driver lost control of the motorcycle near mile marker 59.4, where he collided with the cable barrier. No other vehicles were involved. Traffic Reconstructionists from the Franklin Police Department’s Critical Incident Response team are investigating. The driver’s identity is being withheld to allow family additional time to notify loved ones. Our hearts are saddened by the family’s tragic loss.

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Got Drugs? Get them out of your home & into safe hands; Prescription take-back event, April 29

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On Saturday, April 29, Franklin Police will take part in a national initiative to help prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. This event is an opportunity for residents to rid their homes of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medicine.

The service is free and anonymous – no questions asked. Franklin Police Officers will be on hand to assist participants at this drive-up and drop-off event in the parking lot of Franklin Police Headquarters, located at 900 Columbia Avenue.

9-21-2015 3-52-38 PM
Saturday, April 29 | 10am – 2pm
Drive up, drop-off

 -Dispose of your pills or patches-
Franklin Police Headquarters Parking Lot
900 Columbia Avenue, Franklin

Liquids, needles, and sharps will not be accepted

Franklin Police Department
Professional, Progressive, Responsive
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Crime Stoppers cash offered for info on counterfeiters

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Franklin Police are working to identify these suspects, wanted for passing counterfeit $100 bills in Cool Springs.

It happened at the Mallory Lane Walmart on 04/10/2017. After passing the counterfeit currency in separate transactions, the suspects left together in a white 4-door car.

Information about these suspects
is worth up to $1,000 with an anonymous call to
Crime Stoppers: (615) 794-4000
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Indecent exposure suspect arrested on Main Street

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Cosme Villa-Gonzalez
Age: 34
Franklin, Tennessee

An indecent exposure suspect is free on bond after his arrest, yesterday, in downtown Franklin.

At 11:30 Monday morning, officers were summoned to the 400 block of Main Street to investigate the report of a man masturbating inside of his vehicle. Arriving officers determined that the report was accurate, and arrested 34-year-old Cosme Villa-Gonzalez for Indecent Exposure. Villa-Gonzalez is free on the $2,500 bond set by the Magistrate. He is due in court 04/27/2017 at 1:00 pm.

Franklin Police are working to determine if Villa-Gonzalez or his black Ford F-150 pickup are connected to other cases. Anyone with information is asked to call Franklin Police at (615) 794-2513.

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Have aging parents? Talk to them about the ‘grandparent scam’

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Scams, especially ones targeting senior citizens, can be costly – even devastating to victims. TN.gov has good information that can be used to start a conversation with aging parents about how not to become a victim.

The Grandparent Scam

What Is It?

The “Grandparent Scam” is a scam that targets the elderly in an attempt to steal large sum of money through a wire transfer. Financial losses from this scam are usually several thousand dollars per victim.

How Does It Happen?

A grandparent receives a phone call or email from someone who claims to be their grandchild. (A criminal may claim to be a police officer, lawyer, doctor, or some other authority figure.) The person pretending to be the grandchild says that he or she is traveling in a foreign country or faraway place, has gotten into trouble, and needs money wired quickly.

What Can You Do?

  • If you or someone you know receives a call like this, resist the pressure to act quickly. Stop, think, ask questions.
  • Try to contact your grandchild, or another family member who knows them, to find out if the person who called for help is the person they claim to be. Was your grandchild actually planning a trip? Did they take it? Chances are, your grandchild hasn’t even left home.
  • Never wire money, especially to another country, based upon a request made over the phone or in an email.

If You’ve Been Scammed

Contact your local law enforcement or state consumer protection agency. In Tennessee the state consumer protection agency, the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, is housed in the Department of Commerce and Insurance:

500 James Robertson Parkway
Davy Crockett Tower
Nashville, TN 37243-0565
615-741-2241
consumer.affairs@tn.gov

If it happened online or through email, file a complaint with the
Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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Franklin Police capture second suspect in violent hotel robbery

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An intensive two-day manhunt by Franklin Police has landed this remaining armed robbery suspect behind bars. Franklin Police Detectives and Flex Team Officers arrested 40-year-old Gregg Merrilees in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Indian Park Drive, in Murfreesboro, early this afternoon.

Merrilees was the remaining at-large suspect in the January 11 robbery of the Baymont Inn, on Franklin Commons Court, where one suspect armed with a gun and the other with a knife, menaced the overnight clerk while demanding the hotel’s cash. Detectives from Franklin, Nashville, and Smyrna worked together to identify 32-year-old Dashaun Hickerson of Antioch and 40-year-old Gregg Merrilees of Murfreesboro as the suspects in a string of hotel robberies, including the one in Franklin.

Merrilees, charged with Aggravated Robbery, Burglary, and Theft Under $1,000, is being held in the Williamson County Jail on a $75,000 bond. His court date has not yet been set. Hickerson remains in custody in the Rutherford County Jail.

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One hotel robber behind bars, another is on the run; Police searching for Gregg Merrilees

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Gregg Merrilees
Age: 40
Murfreesboro, TN

04/16/2017 Update: Merrilees Captured

An intensive, multi-agency investigation into a string of middle Tennessee hotel robberies has landed one suspect behind bars, leaving another on the run. Franklin Police began investigating after the January 11 robbery of the Baymont Inn, on Franklin Commons Court, where one suspect armed with a gun and the other with a knife, menaced the overnight clerk while demanding the hotel’s cash.

Dashaun Hickerson
Age: 32
Antioch, TN

Detectives from Franklin, Nashville, and Smyrna worked together to identify 32-year-old Dashaun Hickerson of Antioch and 40-year-old Gregg Merrilees of Murfreesboro as the suspects in a string of hotel robberies, including the one in Franklin. Hickerson is currently being held in the Rutherford County Jail, and Merrilees is on the run. Police need your help to find him.

Franklin Police and Crime Stoppers are offering
a cash reward for information
leading to Merrilees’ capture.

If you know where he is, call Franklin Police
at (615) 794-2513 or Williamson County
Crime Stoppers: (615) 794-4000.

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Window tint violation leads to arrest of felon in possession of handgun

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Darold Swanson
Age: 47
Nashville, Tennessee

A convicted felon is back behind bars after officers found him in possession of a gun, Sunday afternoon.

An officer who stopped a vehicle on Galleria Boulevard, at 5:15 pm, for window tint that was too dark discovered a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat. Two passengers were released, but officers arrested the driver, 47-year-old Darold Swanson of Nashville.

Charged with Felon in Possession of a Weapon and Illegal Window Tint, Swanson is being held in the Williamson County Jail on a $40,000 bond. Swanson is a convicted felon with a violent criminal history. He is due in court 04/20/2017 at 1:00 pm.

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