NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Flash drives, laptops and a white dust mask are among the items seized from Alex Friedmann, the criminal justice reform advocate accused of planting multiple loaded guns and ammunition throughout the new downtown detention center.
Detectives had a warrant to search his home on Broadmoor Drive on Valentine's Day, more than a month after he was arrested in early January for allegedly dressing up as a construction worker and stealing keys to the new jail. Sheriff Daron Hall described the crime as "extremely deliberate and evil" to commit a "massive, escape plan."
"The first thing I heard was just a megaphone of a man's voice being like, 'Come out with your hands up, you won't be harmed!'" neighbor Krista Glover recalled.
Several residents remembered seeing a large presence of law enforcement that morning including the armored truck the SWAT team arrived in. Glover said she saw them use a battering ram at first before switching to some type of circular saw.
"There was this whole cadre of armored police officers with rifles and everything," neighbor Devin Kern said. "It was a whole production."
Once in, investigators seized dozens of items from the home which also included a handcuff key, assured gloves, face masks, a fingerprint check application, duct tape and a camera. Police conducted the search warrant less than a week before Friedmann was indicted with the new and more serious charge of Vandalism of $250K or more.
NewsChannel 5 also discovered weeks after his arrest in January, police also extracted the Verizon Samsung S7 that reportedly belonged to Friedmann. A detective said surveillance cameras captured Friedmann using the same phone to take pictures of inside the jail including the sally port area.
Attorney Jim Todd, who once served as an assistant district attorney, believed law enforcement executed the search warrant and seized items to find evidence on what Friedmann may have been planning to do and other accomplices. The potential evidence could also help police determine how many guns were hidden and exactly where. Sheriff Daron Hall said in a press conference last week that he's not confident all the weapons were found.
If police find anything, Todd said it could give them the authority to charge Friedmann more serious offenses.
"He could be facing multiple charges in the future for some sort of conspiracy. Conspiracy, by definition, is planning on doing the crime and take a step to further the crime," Todd said. "My guess is they don't have evidence now or else they would have already."
Friedmann could likely face federal charges as well.
Attorney David Raybin is representing Friedmann for the indictment. Friedmann is being represented by another lawyer in the same firm for his original three charges of Attempted Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools and Tampering with Evidence. Metro police said Friedmann tried to destroy a schematic document of the building by ripping and chewing it after he was taken into custody.
Authorities released surveillance pictures of three possible accomplices wearing a construction uniform. The men have not been identified but police ask if anyone has information to call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.
A video arraignment was originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday but was pushed back to March 19, according to the court clerk. While he's in the custody of the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, Friedmann is being held at Riverbend Maximum Security on a $2.5 million bond as of Wednesday evening.
