NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Police said teens carjacked a restaurant worker on his break at gunpoint. Then, they lead troopers on a chase across state lines.
Around 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, police said a restaurant worker on a break in his vehicle was approached by several teens off 12th Avenue South. It happened in an alley behind two popular lunch spots between the Gulch and Edgehill.
One of the suspects produced a pistol demanding the worker's keys. The victim told police the others punched him, and pulled him out of his car.
“I feel bad because some of us just want to have a normal life, a good life, come to work, and you don’t expect to have this kind of thing happen to you, and I feel sad that it happened to them,” Nearby restaurant customer Aaron Kongsaysy said.
Following the carjacking, license plate readers picked up on the vehicle on Murfreesboro Pike and Fessler's Lane. Next, it was spotted on I-24 near the Robertson County line. State troopers engaged in a pursuit in Montgomery County, and the teens crashed in Kentucky before they were taken into custody.
The driver was identified as 15-year-old Rashaad Compton and the passenger was 17-year-old Edwardontavious Phillips. Another 16-year-old, Malakhi Harney was also charged with aggravated robbery.
“I’m happy that they pursued and got to them and made the arrest and just to make sure that the roads are safer for everybody,” Kongsaysy said.
When Kongsaysy was picking up lunch nearby, he sat on his phone for a minute first. In the future, he said he'll have his head on a swivel after hearing about the carjacking. “My car will unlock automatically when you start the car, and I just want to make sure that I am more alert and more aware of where I am,” Kongsaysy said.
The suspects will be extradited to Nashville from Kentucky. They're facing aggravated robbery charges. Charges related to the chase and crash in Kentucky are also pending.
