Police drone captures video of suspect brandishing box cutter while robbing person in Nashville, police say

What This Story Is About

• Nashville police say they used a drone to help them capture two suspects during an active robbery.

Why It Matters

• The drone captured footage of one of the suspects allegedly brandishing a box cutter while holding one of the suspects, according to police.

What Happens Next

• The Drone as First Responder (DFR) trial started at the end of May, and it is expected to last 30 to 45 flight days. So far, the drone pilots have flown 15 days.

For Context

• The drone is used as part of the department’s First Responder (DFR) pilot program, which is used within a two-mile radius of the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Madison Precinct.

Catch Up

• Metro Nashville Police launched the drone pilot program in Madison earlier this year. It assisted in the arrest of a domestic violence suspect in May.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed that a drone from their new program helped them capture two suspects during an active robbery this week.

The robbery was reported Tuesday afternoon at a business on Robinson Road, according to police. The department says that when officers arrived and deployed the drone, its video captured Nashville 49-year-old Antonio Crews brandishing a box cutter while holding a male victim by the collar of his shirt.

The drone was used as part of the department’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) pilot program, which allows for the launch of department drones within a two-mile radius of its Madison Precinct.

The victim told police he sent Crews $200 via Cash App during the alleged robbery. Police said the victim also gave a second suspect, Clarksville 23-year-old Donavon Steele, $100 in cash.

Both men were arrested at the scene, per MNPD.

“With assistance from the drone overhead, officers recovered the boxcutter under a stack of pallets near where the robbery occurred,” a police press release said.

Officers reported finding the $100 in cash on Steele’s person, and it was returned to the victim.

MNPD said Crews was charged with aggravated robbery. Steele was charged with robbery, and both men were granted a $25,000 bond.

The DFR program is in a trial phase that started at the end of May, and it is expected to last 30 to 45 flight days. As of Wednesday, the pilots have flown 15 days, a department spokesperson confirmed.

The program also assisted in the arrest of a domestic violence suspect in May.