Two 18-Year-Olds Arrested Several Times Within Two Months for Car Burglaries

0
336
Chris Winters, Aliecia McKnight (Source-MNPD)
Chris Winters, Aliecia McKnight (Source-MNPD)

Metro Nashville detectives believe they have put a dent in vehicle burglaries in the Hermitage area with the arrests on Saturday, May 6, 2023 of two 18-year-olds who were free on bond for other offenses earlier this year.

Chris Winters and Aliecia McKnight, both 18, are now facing several charges.

At 4:35 a.m. on Saturday, officers saw a black Kia Sorento on Royal Parkway that matched the description of a known stolen vehicle as well as the suspect automobile involved in a series of vehicle burglaries.

Officers tried to stop the Kia, which Winters is presumed to have been driving. The Kia (which was stolen April 1 from Skyline Ridge Drive in Madison) did not pull over. Instead, it led officers on a 19-minute pursuit as it hit speeds of 120 to 130 mph. The Kia eventually pulled into an apartment complex on E Nocturne Drive where four persons, including Winters and McKnight, jumped out and ran.

McKnight was apprehended outside an apartment building. Officers, at gunpoint, ordered Winters to get out of the car.

Winters ignored the commands and started driving, striking an officer with the side mirror. The Altima collided into a parked car, headed down a hill, and crashed into two more vehicles. Winters again fled on foot. He was taken into custody hiding in the backyard of a nearby home.

Back at the stolen Kia, officers found seven pistols inside a red backpack.

Winters was charged with 15 offenses. A judicial commissioner set Winters’ bond at $69,000. He posted bond and was released from jail just after 3 p.m. Saturday, but he wasn’t free for long.

Violent Crimes Division detectives had been investigating a series of vehicle burglaries that occurred before sunrise Saturday in the areas of Music Valley Drive, Rudy Circle, and Elm Hill Pike. The stolen Kia was seen by witnesses in those areas. Detectives encountered Winters outside of the Downtown Detention Center where he had just been released and rearrested him. His bond on Saturday afternoon’s charges was set at $140,000.

Winters was also arrested on April 5, on charges of auto theft, evading arrest, felony gun possession, and felony fentanyl and marijuana possession. He was released on $25,500 bond and is to appear in Criminal Court on those charges on May 25.

He has remained in jail since the second arrest on May 5.

His co-defendant, McKnight, was charged Saturday morning with joyriding in the stolen Kia and evading arrest. She was released on $4,000 bond. Violent Crimes detectives swore out new arrest warrants against McKnight Saturday afternoon charging her with nine counts of auto burglary and three counts of gun theft. Efforts are being made to bring her back into custody.

At the time of Saturday morning’s crimes, McKnight was free on $9,000 bond stemming from her March 23 arrest on charges of auto theft, two counts of gun theft, gun possession in the commission of a dangerous felony, felony drug possession, and aggravated child neglect.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here