A Readyville-based car thief got more than he bargained for after he called a wrecker to tow away a broken down car from the shoulder of I-24 east near Bell Road in Nashville.
As Jeffrey Lee Damron would later find out, that car was one of the Metropolitan Police Department’s bait vehicles equipped with special electronic equipment. Detectives tracked the bait car to Murfreesboro Auto Parts on Mt. Herman Road in Murfreesboro, where Damron was attempting to sell it for scrap. He was taken into custody without incident. The wrecker driver, who Damron hired to tow the vehicle after claiming it was his, was not charged.
A check of the salvage yard led to the discovery of two additional stolen vehicles, one from Nashville, the other from Rutherford County, which had been sold by Damron. He is being charged with several counts of auto theft.
46-Year old Damron is from Readyville and has prior theft convictions in both Davidson and Rutherford Counties.
The bait car was placed on I-24 due to recent thefts of unattended vehicles from the interstate.