Police: Suspect in critical condition after alleged Pegram burglary

A break-in at a Pegram country store late Tuesday night led to the store’s owner being dragged down the street by the alleged getaway van and one suspect being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen, police said.

Shortly after 10 p.m., the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office received a call that someone broke into Finch’s Market, located on Highway 70.

Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Shannon Heflin said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon the owner of Finch’s Market had arrived to check on his store, when he noticed that the front window of the store was “busted in” and saw a suspect inside apparently stealing items.

“He did confront that suspect with a gun, ordered him to stop (and) the suspect took off running across the street to a van that was waiting for him” Heflin said. “The victim chased him to the van (and) attempted to stop the van by jumping into the passenger window, holding them at gunpoint.”

A witness stated that the owner had been dragged down the street by a green minivan occupied by two males: the driver and the suspect who allegedly broke the store’s window to steal cigarettes.

“We don’t encourage the general public, store owners, to take that type of action,” Heflin said. “He would actually have been safer if he had stayed at a safe distance and tried to obtain a tag number, called the police immediately and let us take care of that. He did put himself in a pretty dangerous situation.”

According to a release issued Wednesday by the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office, the store owner “was injured with road rash on his face, arms and legs. The victim stated to deputies while being dragged he produced a handgun and fired one time in the suspect’s vehicle. He stated he thought he struck one of the suspects.”

A 54-year-old suspect from Nashville was located in the vehicle Wednesday morning around 9 a.m. He was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he was undergoing surgery as of Wednesday afternoon.

“He was delirious,” Heflin said of the suspect’s state when law enforcement found him. “Of course, he had been bleeding all night long. Paramedics state that his abdomen was full of blood and he needed emergency services immediately.”

He said the suspect was in critical condition and deemed it a “life-threatening” injury.

Heflin explained that Cheatham County deputies and investigators learned of an incident at another market on Highway 70 where suspicious activity had been reported a few days prior to the alleged break-in at Finch’s Market.

Surveillance footage from that store of that incident showed a person, a vehicle similar to the one which was identified as the presumed getaway car Tuesday night, and an identifiable tag number, which led to a Nashville registration.

Heflin specified that the same suspect whom investigators believe broke into Finch’s Market may not necessarily have been connected to the burglary two days prior — “that part is still under investigation” — but said that it does appear to be the same vehicle.

He said that the suspect does not appear to have committed crimes in Cheatham County previously.

Investigators located the van on 12th Avenue North, where they discovered the suspect in the back seat of the vehicle with a gunshot wound.

Heflin said investigators are still searching for the second subject involved in the break-in, the alleged getaway driver. He did not have a name or description of the individual.

According to the release, a hold has been placed on the suspect who was shot as the case remains under investigation. The Nashville man faces burglary and theft charges, and other charges may come pending a review by the District Attorney’s Office.

Heflin said the owner of Finch’s Market does not face charges at this time.

Kelly Fisher, reporter for the Ashland City Times, can be reached at KPFisher@gannett.com, 615-801-3866 or on Twitter at @KellyPFisher.