Across our country, a child is sold for sex every two minutes.
Although shocking, this fact reflects a troubling reality: Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world—generating $150 billion in profits— and afflicts every community in our country, including in Tennessee.
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Five men were arrested following the execution of a search warrant on Wednesday at a property in Antioch, Tennessee by state federal law enforcement agencies including the Metro Nashville Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and the FBI.
The search warrant and arrests were first announced on social media by MNPD on Monday, when the department confirmed the five arrests were part of “an ongoing human trafficking investigation,” and the residence “is a suspected brothel.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, and four judges on Tennessee’s 21st Judicial District either did not respond, or did not confirm, to inquiries by The Tennessee Star seeking more information about the claim by Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) that one-third of criminal cases in Williamson County now involve an illegal immigrant.
The silence comes after Warner appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, telling the hosts, “I recently met with the Williamson County delegation, and judges from Williamson County, here in southern Middle Tennessee, and a judge last week told a group of about five of us… either build more jails, build more prisons, or remove the immigrants from this state.”
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A Tennessee state lawmaker told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that one-third of the criminal court cases in Williamson County are now related to illegal immigrants, claiming a county judge warned state lawmakers must consider increasing the number of jails and prisons due to an uptick in crime.
State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) divulged the purported number of criminal cases related to illegal immigrants after he was asked about his legislation that would require law enforcement agencies to detain anyone found to be in the country illegally for the maximum amount of time legally allowed, and then transport the illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities for release if they are not retrieved for deportation by federal agencies.
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Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Director David Rausch said the Tren de Aragua gang members active in Tennessee are likely part of the criminal network that formed in Venezuelan prisons under the country’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, whose government later claimed the prisoners escaped.
Rausch made the comments to U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) during a Saturday appearance in her “Minute with Marsha” podcast, expanding on his previous confirmations that Tren de Aragua members are present in Tennessee’s major cities and travel through the state in human trafficking operations.
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A member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has been arrested in Hamilton County as a result of law enforcement investigating a human trafficking operation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Monday.
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After two Tennessee law enforcement agencies that serve Knoxville contradicted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI), which last week warned the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is present in all major Tennessee cities, the agency pointed The Tennessee Star to a media advisory explaining local law enforcement may not be aware of the gang’s human trafficking operations.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office stated last Saturday that Tren de Aragua members are the subjects of any investigations, and no associates of the gang are in its correctional facilities. Two days later, the Knoxville Police Department Chief Paul Noel said the department is aware of the gang, but is “not aware of any active members of Tren de Aragua in Knoxville.”
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U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Tennessee is a “consequence” of the Biden-Harris administration’s “destructive open-borders policies.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) told Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday the expanding Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is now present in all of Tennessee’s “major cities,” and warned the group is engaged in human trafficking, organized retail theft, and drug trafficking nationwide.
On Wednesday, TBI communications director Josh DeVine confirmed to The Tennessee Star the bureau “has increased concerns about the potential for crime connected to Tren de Aragua (TdA), a prominent, violent Venezuelan transnational gang.”
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) launched a new webpage on her official website this week dedicated to providing resource information for Tennesseans impacted by Hurricane Helene.
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A man drowned after a highway pursuit and gun fight with Chester County and other law enforcement entities, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
“Preliminary information indicates the incident originated in Chester County near Henderson when a Chester County Deputy initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle driving recklessly at approximately 9:15 a.m.,” according a TBI release. “The driver refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, the driver briefly stopped and presented a weapon, pointing it at deputies, and causing the deputies to fire their service weapons.”
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According to the testimony of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agent, more than 220 rounds were fired during a June shootout between two Blount County Sheriff’s deputies and a man who was involved in a domestic dispute at his home.
During a preliminary hearing for Ronald Millsaps, who was charged with aggravated assault, attempted criminal homicide, especially aggravated kidnapping and reckless endangerment after the shootout, a TBI agent revealed a bit about the aftermath of the shootout.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Sunday announced that it is investigating an officer-involved shooting of a wanted Alabama fugitive in Hardin County.
“Preliminary information indicates that deputies encountered an Alabama robbery suspect, later identified as Jonathan Schutte, in a parking lot … in Savannah,” TBI said in a release. “When [Hardin County] deputies approached the vehicle, Schutte reportedly exited his vehicle and fired his weapon at deputies, resulting in the deputies returning fire, hitting and killing 33-year-old Schutte. No law enforcement officers were hurt in the incident.”
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A man and a woman in Meigs County have been charged for alleged human trafficking, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
“Agents began investigating Tristin Epperson and Clarissa McKinney in early 2024, after receiving information concerning their interactions with a juvenile,” TBI said.
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A man accused in taking part in the shooting of a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officer in Putnam County had a history of violent crime, according to court records.
Braze Rucker was charged with a litany of crimes committed during a robbery attempt in Nashville in 2013. The charges stemmed from a robbery in which Rucker shot one person, leaving her paralyzed.
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Former Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy, who resigned from her post Wednesday, has been indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury for 17 alleged crimes, some misdemeanors and some felonies.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), which says it began investigating Murphy in April, first announced the news of her indictment Thursday morning.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) marked the three year anniversary of the disappearance of Summer Wells with a video update on the case.
“We don’t have the evidence in this case to know for sure whether Summer was abducted or whether or not she walked away from her home and became lost,” said Josh Melton, the assistant director of TBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, in a video posted to X. “It’s really important for us to not focus all our attention on just one of those two.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced the arrests of 11 convicted felons for voting in local elections in 2020 and 2022, and said that four deceased felons also voted in those elections.
“In late January, at the request of 18th Judicial District Attorney General Ray Whitley, TBI agents began investigating reports of 15 convicted felons unlawfully voting in various Sumner County elections between 2020 and 2022,” according to a TBI press release. “Agents determined four of the felons were deceased prior to the investigation. Agents investigated the remaining 11 individuals, determining all had been convicted of at least one felony and registered to vote in Sumner County after their convictions, completing documents that included language regarding not having been convicted of a felony.”
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Tennessee’s District Attorneys General Conference will collect and compile data on the costs related to illegal immigrants in the state who are charged or convicted of a criminal offense through at least 2032 after the immigration bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee.
The report will be sent to the governor and both the House and Senate speaker.
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A three month operation organized by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and executed with the help of nearly 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement partners has resulted in the arrests of 12 people on child sex crime charges.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Protecting Tomorrow,” was designed to “identify and locate children who were victims of sextortion and online sexual exploitation, along with identifying and arresting individuals who aim to harm children online,” according to TBI.
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The man accused of kidnapping and murdering Eliza Fletcher in a high profile 2022 case was convicted late last week for raping another woman a year before Fletcher’s murder, according to several reports.
Cleotha Abston was reportedly convicted in Memphis of three counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a weapon.
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Reactions have poured in after Memphis police officer Joseph McKinney was shot and killed early Friday morning while he and other officers were responding to a suspicious vehicle call.
On Friday approximately 2:00 a.m., officers responded to a suspicious vehicle call at Horn Lake Road and Charter Avenue, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
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A bill that would create a domestic violence offender registry is moving through the Tennessee House of Representatives.
“This bill creates within the Tennessee bureau of Investigation (TBI) a registry of persons who have been convicted of the offense of domestic assault. The TBI must maintain this registry based upon information supplied to TBI by the court clerks pursuant to this bill, and information available to the TBI from the department of correction and local law enforcement agencies. The TBI must make the registry available for public inquiry on the internet,” according to the summary of HB 2898.
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Roasted, the restaurant in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville where a gunman opened fire on Easter Sunday, killing one and injuring multiple others, announced Tuesday it is closed until further notice in the wake of the incident.
“As our team continues to process and heal we will be closed until further notice. We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for everyone involved in this tragic incident,” the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
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The man wanted by police for a shooting in a Nashville restaurant on Easter Sunday was out of jail on a combined $50,000 bond and has an extensive criminal past, according to court records.
Anton Rucker, 46, is suspected of injuring five and killing one person—Allen Beachem, 33—in a shooting at Roasted, a restaurant in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville. Rucker is now one of Tennessee’s most wanted, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in a post to X.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the death of Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny, who was found deceased inside his home by the Tullahoma Police Department (TPD) on Tuesday.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Monday honored a special agent who was once described as being “addicted to danger,” after he passed away last week.
Special Agent Maxey Gilleland served the agency and the people of Tennessee for 31 years, until he retired in 2004. At age 19, before joining TBI, he entered the Marine Corps and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. There, according to TBI, he earned several Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and the Navy Cross.
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An infamous Tennessee doctor who exchanged prescription opiates for sex and money will serve 20 years in federal prison, according to a release by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Jeffrey Young Jr. of Jackson, who was known as the “Rock Doc,” will begin serving his time immediately.
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Two men arrested in connection with a “multinational criminal organization linked to human trafficking” are illegal aliens, The Tennessee Star has learned.
In the fall of 2023, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Human Trafficking Unit arrested Yilibeth Rivero De Caldera on nine counts of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. His victims, the agency said, were Central and South American female migrants who were forced into sex slavery to pay off debts owed to Rivero De Caldera in exchange for Rivero De Caldera smuggling them into the United States.
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Gov. Bill Lee (R) Wednesday announced that the flag at the State Capitol will fly at half staff in honor of a fallen Blount County Sheriff’s Deputy who was killed in the line of duty.
“Today, flags over the State Capitol will be lowered in remembrance of Deputy Greg McGowan, who laid down his life to protect & serve Tennesseans. Maria & I continue to lift his family & loved ones up in prayer,” Lee said on X, formerly Twitter.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a letter he sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) regarding its response to a group of pro-Palestine protesters that blocked traffic in both directions on I-40 in Memphis over the weekend.
On Saturday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters commandeered the Mississippi River Bridge on I-40 in Memphis, shutting down traffic in both directions for nearly two hours and leaving motorists with no way to cross the Mississippi River as the I-55 river bridge was under construction.
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A video from last weekend shows pro-Palestinian protestors marching down the I-40 highway in Memphis, blocking traffic.
“Demonstrators for a Pro-Palestinian protest that began at City Hall are marching across the Memphis-Arkansas I-40 bridge, causing lanes to completely close,” according to WREG, who posted the video to their YouTube channel.
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A convicted sex offender from Georgia is dead after an encounter with Tennessee authorities during which he rammed several police cars, several sources have confirmed.
Edward Ahrens was suspected of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl who was the subject of a Tennessee Endangered Child Alert, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The missing child was identified as Aubriauna Mays.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the January 12 death of an inmate in the Shelby County Jail.
“At the request of 30th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, we were requested on January 10th to investigate a report that an inmate at the Shelby County Jail, Ramon McGhee (DOB: 02/19/1981) was found unresponsive, and was transported to a local hospital. On Friday, McGhee was declared dead,” TBI Public Information Officer Keli McAlister told The Tennessee Star Wednesday. “Our investigation remains active and ongoing. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of his death. Information regarding the autopsy is not something that would come from our office.”
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A adult caregiver in Maury County has been arrested for allegedly draining the bank accounts of her home care patients, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
“In June 2023, after receiving referrals from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents initiated an investigation into an allegation that a caregiver for several home care patients in Maury County was using the victims’ debit cards to make fraudulent, personal charges on an online gambling site,” according to a TBI release. “The investigation identified Cynthia Dobbins as the caregiver responsible for the theft from the victims’ accounts.”
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A Tennessee nurse who was wanted for negligent homicide in the death of a patient has been arrested in Tennessee after nearly nine months on the run, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
“After a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents began investigating an allegation that in March 2022, a certified nurse aide who worked in a care facility in Clarksville failed to properly use a lift while attempting to move a patient,” TBI said in a news release. “As a result, that resident, Patricia Oliver, sustained a fall that caused her serious bodily injury, ultimately resulting in her death. The investigation identified Takesha Tucker as the nurse aide responsible for the incident.”
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One of Tennessee’s most wanted fugitives, who escaped from prison in 1990, remains on the lam 30 years after being placed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Most Wanted list.
Robert Houston Sanders, serving an 81-year sentence for kidnapping and armed robbery, escaped from the Tennessee State Prison on April 20, 1990 and disappeared. Sanders has been on TBI’s Most Wanted list since its inception in 1993. He is the only most wanted fugitive in the state with that distinction and is still considered “armed and dangerous.”
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According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), a Lewis County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD) deputy has been arrested for theft and money laundering related to the purchase of a police K9.
“On September 13th, at the request of 32nd Judicial District Attorney General Hans Schwendimann, TBI special agents began investigating a complaint of theft against Lewis County Deputy Brandon Grady,” TBI said in a release.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported Friday the arrest of Yilibeth “Yibi” Rivero De Caldera in Murfreesboro, who they claim trafficked at least a dozen women from Central and South America to Tennessee, where she then forced them to perform “commercial sex acts” to repay their debt.
A press release reveals authorities allege “De Caldera provided financial assistance” for her “female Hispanic immigrants,” but after they arrived in Tennessee, they claim she “levied the victims with a large debt and forced them to engage in commercial sex acts at local hostels to pay back the debt.”
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Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released a new Human Trafficking Statistical Report last week, revealing a sharp increase in human trafficking of minors in Tennessee in a five-year period.
The report, which was the first of its kind released in more than a decade, revealed there were 518 minor sex trafficking reports by November 5, and the agency notes that reports of minor sex trafficking “dramatically increased from 66 in 2016 to over 600 by 2021,” which is an increase of 809 percent. Similar numbers were reported in 2022 and 2023.
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The number of Tennessee citizens behind bars increased in 2022, coinciding with a drop in violent crime, according to data released this week by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and numbers tracked by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
Tennessee saw a 7.9 percent increase in the state’s prison population in 2023, according to the report. The new prisoners include 1,615 men and 125 women. Additionally, the DOJ data release notes that Tennessee is one of only four states that saw more than 1,500 new prisoners during 2022, joined by Texas, Florida, Mississippi.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) in conjunction with federal and local law enforcement completed an operation in Memphis to rescue 13 children who are suspected victims of human trafficking.
Participating in the operation, which was called Operation Not for Sale, were the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Memphis Police Department’s Human Trafficking Task Force and Organized Crime Unit, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services’ Absconder Unit and Human Trafficking Response Team, according to a release.
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Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is highlighting a new anti-human trafficking team, which was formed as part of the state’s ongoing effort to combat the practice.
“We’ve had over 500 reports since the beginning of the year,” Kate Greer, the Director of the Human Trafficking Response Team, which is part of DCS, reportedly said.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released a statement Tuesday night revealing John Drake Jr. died from what “preliminarily appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating another officer-involved shooting this week, this time in Nashville.
“At the request of 20th Judicial District Attorney General Glenn Funk, TBI special agents are investigating the circumstances leading to a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred Monday evening in Davidson County,” TBI said in a press release.
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A Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputy who was shot in the line of duty Sunday night has died, according to the office.
“Officer Blakely is a hero. He lived as a hero, he died as a hero,” Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said late Monday night. “Keep Tucker’s family in your thoughts.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating after a fatal officer-involved shooting in Knox County Sunday night that left a deputy “seriously wounded.”
“TBI special agents are investigating the circumstances surrounding a Sunday night fatal officer-involved shooting in Knox County, which also left a deputy seriously wounded,” TBI said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) applauded Governor Bill Lee for signing an anti-human trafficking bill into law on Friday.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced this week it has identified human remains from a cold case murder that took place nearly four decades ago in 1983.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced at the end of last week that it is hiring for several positions statewide, including forensic scientists.
According to the TBI’s job posting, the duties of a Forensic Scientist include:
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