A license plate reader alert led Mt. Juliet police to two women wanted on theft warrants Tuesday night, Oct. 20. The traffic stop ended in the department's own parking lot.
The Mt. Juliet Police Department said its Guardian Shield system flagged a vehicle tied to a theft earlier in October. Officers located the vehicle and pulled it over in the MJPD parking lot, according to WSMV.
The driver, a 47-year-old Smyrna woman, had an active Mt. Juliet warrant stemming from a shoplifting incident earlier in October, the Wilson County Source reported.
While officers were taking the driver into custody, another officer recognized the passenger from a Be On the Lookout bulletin issued by the Franklin Police Department. The passenger, a 37-year-old Antioch woman, had two active Franklin warrants related to organized retail crime, MJPD said.
Both women were arrested on their outstanding warrants.
Officers then discovered "a large quantity of additional retail merchandise inside the vehicle," according to the department. Police said they are still investigating where those items came from.
The arrest is the latest in a string of retail-theft cases in Mt. Juliet tied to the city's Guardian Shield license plate reader program.
In August, the system flagged a vehicle connected to a multi-state theft operation. Officers stopped a 44-year-old California man and recovered more than $5,000 in suspected stolen makeup from his vehicle, according to the Wilson County Source.
On Oct. 10, Mt. Juliet police recognized a 39-year-old Nashville woman with seven prior felony convictions for organized retail theft as she entered an Academy Sports store. Officers later found more than $1,000 in suspected stolen clothing in her vehicle and charged her with shoplifting approximately $275 in merchandise, according to the Wilson County Source.
MJPD said the Oct. 20 arrests resulted from its license plate reader technology and coordination with the Franklin Police Department. The department posted details of the stop on its official X account, including a link to information about the Guardian Shield program's privacy protections.
The investigation into the merchandise found in the vehicle remains open.
