A man Nashville Police described as “a dangerous felon with a gun” allegedly tried to carjack a woman in Nashville, but police later arrested the suspect, according to a press release.
Jamontez Deshun Howse, 20, of Enchanted Circle, is jailed in lieu of $105,000 bond on charges of attempted carjacking, theft of a Cadillac Escalade, and theft of a .45 caliber loaded semi-automatic pistol that he dropped moments before his arrest, according to a Nashville press release.
As a felon, Howse legally could not own a gun.
“Late Thursday afternoon, a couple on Lynnwood Boulevard reported to a West Precinct officer that a 2018 Cadillac Escalade had been stolen from their home earlier in the day. The couple said OnStar tracking on the vehicle was enabled. The OnStar service told police the vehicle was on Putnam Drive in North Nashville. A police helicopter flew into the area and spotted the SUV entering onto Briley Parkway,” according to the press release.
“At the MNPD’s request, OnStar sent a signal to the Escalade causing it to become disabled. It came to a stop on the side of Briley Parkway near Dickerson Pike. Howse bailed from the vehicle and, with pistol in hand, ran down the exit ramp of Briley Parkway. He went up to a car on the ramp and ordered the 41-year-old female driver to ‘get the f*** out of the car’ while trying to open the door. With officers and West Precinct undercover detectives quickly arriving, Howse threw the gun down and was taken into custody.”
Someone previously stole a pistol from an unlocked vehicle parked at a home on General Bate Drive. That was the gun Howse carried, the press release said.
“Howse remains under investigation in regard to numerous vehicle burglaries in West Nashville which are being committed by several teens/young adults apparently working in concert with each other,” according to the press release.
“During the last two weeks, 80 vehicles have been burglarized in West Nashville, 40 of them unlocked. In 23 others, the thieves used blunt objects to break out windows. On a few occasions, they used garage door openers to gain access to victims’ garages where they searched through cabinets and any additional vehicles. In at least one case, the burglars fired a shot to scare away the property owner who caught them in the act.”
This is not the first time authorities in Tennessee have arrested a convicted criminal for allegedly having a firearm — even though the person legally wasn’t allowed to have it.
As The Tennessee Star reported last week, an ex-convict in Tennessee is in jail once again this week for allegedly robbing and shooting a 55-year-old man.
As The Star reported in February officials charged a Madison man with carjacking, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Officials charged Devan Javon Thompson, 31, of Madison.
As The Star reported last year, Justin Jerome Jones pleaded guilty in November in U.S. District Court to three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms. The Star also reported that authorities sentenced a Nashville man, Kevin Mark Paul, in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Gee, I just don’t understand why people who are not supposed to have a gun ignore the law and carry a gun. I know, let’s make all guns illegal so no one can have a gun, yea that’s the answer!