A man wanted for allegedly sending death threats to a retired Davidson County judge was arrested on Sunday in Nashville after his vehicle was pinged by a license plate reader in Arkansas.
The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said 31-year old Michael Wortham was arrested early Sunday morning after TITANS officers found him sleeping in his car in the Old Hickory neighborhood.
Wortham, according to MNPD, started to be investigated by Specialized Investigations Division detectives in May for allegedly sending “threatening messages” to now-retired Davidson County Judge Stanley Kweller.
Judge Kweller, according to MNPD, presided over a January 2024 custody decision where Wortham lost his parental rights, which police believe was the motivation behind Wortham’s messages.
MNPD said Wortham was identified by detectives after his phone number was found to be linked to the Facebook account sending the harassing messages.
After being identified by detectives, Wortham was entered into a national database after two felony warrants were recently sworn out against him, MNPD said.
Wortham, who MNPD said was “believed to be living out of state,” appeared on MNPD’s radar on Saturday after his vehicle hit on a license plate reader in Arkansas, indicating he was heading towards Nashville.
Police took Wortham into custody after locating him in the area of his last known Davidson County address.
Wortham was booked into the Davidson County Jail on two felony charges – Aggravated Stalking and Retaliation for Past Action.
In Arkansas, license plate readers may be used by law enforcement agencies for “any lawful purpose,” in addition to “regulating the use of parking facilities” and “controlling access to secured areas.”
A pilot program of license plate readers in Nashville that concluded in July 2023 found that the technology assisted law enforcement with 112 arrests.
In August 2023, the Metro Nashville City Council voted to pass a resolution allowing a full implementation of license plate readers to be installed in the Nashville metro area – however, more than a year after that measure passed, Nashville has yet to see the funds directed for such implementation.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who, as a council member in 2023, voted against the measure to allow the technology to be implemented across Nashville, said in November that the “policy isn’t right” surrounding the license plate readers.
O’Connell further said it is a “longshot” that the implementation of license plate readers will make the 2025 budget.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Michael Wortham” by Metro Nashville Police Department and “License Plate Reader” by ScottMLiebenson CC BY-SA 3.0.
The stupid liberals will claim the license plate readers are racist for identifying a black person.