Two men told police they survived a gunpoint kidnapping by dialing 911 from the trunk of a moving car after an ambush behind a Citgo on Dickerson Pike on Nov. 16. Officers later arrested 41-year-old Jericco McFarland in connection with the attack, authorities said.
Investigators say the case unfolded in daylight in a busy corridor and involved multiple gunshots, an alleged second gunman and a frantic search guided by a phone signal. The men were rescued with injuries; McFarland was taken into custody on Dec. 2 and charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and being a felon in possession of a gun. Detectives say the episode was not random, though they have not detailed how the people involved knew one another. The immediate stakes now center on identifying the second suspect and tracing the firearm used during the assault.
Police said the confrontation began about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 16 in an alley behind the Citgo at 701 Dickerson Pike. According to arrest papers, a man approached the victims, ages 18 and 26, pointed a handgun and fired multiple rounds. One bullet grazed the younger victim’s left ankle, tore through the top of his tennis shoe and exited out the back, the documents state. The gunman then forced both men into the trunk of his white Ford Fusion and drove away. Inside the trunk, one victim used a cellphone to call 911 and stayed on the line with dispatchers as officers tried to narrow the car’s location in real time using the phone’s signal, police said.
Detectives say the car ultimately stopped along Lischey Avenue, where the trunk was opened and a second, unidentified gunman appeared. The victims told officers the pair struck them with pistols, took a necklace and even removed one victim’s pants during the ordeal. While the men were still trapped, dispatchers “pinged” the phone and directed responding units toward the signal. Officers found the Ford with the victims in the trunk and got them out; the gunmen ran from the area before police could make arrests at the scene. The rescued men were evaluated for injuries linked to the gunshot graze and the alleged beating, authorities said.
In the days that followed, investigators gathered surveillance video and conducted photo lineups. Police say both victims identified McFarland as the gunman who first confronted them behind the gas station. Detectives also reviewed footage tied to the Citgo and streets along the escape route. On Dec. 2, officers located McFarland in his mother’s Chevy Impala in a Publix parking lot in west Nashville and took him into custody. Police said a loaded firearm was found in the car. A department spokesperson said the motive remains under review; officials have not disclosed what sparked the encounter in the alley or how the second suspect joined in along Lischey Avenue.
The gas station sits on a stretch of Dickerson Pike lined with small shops, older homes and auto lots, a few miles north of downtown. Late afternoon traffic often backs up near nearby intersections as commuters cut through side streets. Residents who live off Lischey Avenue said they saw flashing lights cluster on blocks where the search converged that day. Detectives canvassed for cameras that might show the Ford Fusion as it left the alley or passed through transit corridors, a routine step in reconstructing routes when a victim is confined inside a vehicle. The search timeline included the dispatch center’s efforts to triangulate the phone left inside the trunk, according to police.
McFarland’s charges include two counts each of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, plus a felon-in-possession count, police said. Booking records list his bond at more than $200,000. Detectives said they recovered evidence consistent with the victims’ account, including shell casings and items taken from the men. The exact number of shots fired was not disclosed. Police said the firearm used in the initial alley confrontation had previously been reported stolen; investigators are tracing how it changed hands. Authorities also noted that the incident does not appear to be a random attack but did not elaborate.
The Nov. 16 kidnapping adds to a year of violent robbery investigations that have put pressure on neighborhoods bordering Dickerson Pike. Businesses in the corridor have installed more cameras in alleys and driveways, managers say, after a series of theft and assault reports over the past two years. Police data show officers routinely respond to calls involving weapons, vehicle break-ins and disturbances near convenience stores and gas stations along the route. The case has renewed discussion among residents about lighting behind commercial buildings and the usefulness of trunk-release latches and emergency call features that, in this instance, helped lead officers to the victims.
Procedurally, prosecutors will review the police file to decide whether to present the case to a grand jury or proceed by direct complaint in criminal court. If a grand jury returns an indictment, McFarland would be arraigned and a judge would set future dates for discovery and motions. Detectives are still working to identify the second suspect and are pursuing additional search warrants for digital records tied to phones and accounts referenced in interviews, officials said. The medical assessment of the victims, including documentation of the graze wound and other injuries, will form part of the evidence package along with video, 911 audio and any recovered property.
Neighbors along Lischey Avenue described seeing officers running on foot and cruisers circling side streets as the search unfolded. One resident said she watched police open the car trunk and help two men out as paramedics staged nearby. Another resident said detectives returned later with evidence bags and marked off a section of pavement where they believed the car had stopped. Gas station workers near Dickerson Pike said they were asked for copies of exterior camera footage and for statements about any suspicious activity near the alley that afternoon.
As of Saturday, McFarland remained jailed on the listed charges while detectives worked to identify the second gunman named by the victims. Police said they plan to release additional information after lab testing on the firearm and a more detailed review of surveillance video. The next public update is expected once prosecutors make charging decisions and any indictment date is set.