TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on Sep 19, 2023

Tennessee faces an epidemic of stolen guns from automobiles but statistics show the perpetrators are rarely caught and arrested, reports the Tennessean. Of 5,386 reported cases of guns stolen from cars statewide last year, less than 4% resulted in an arrest, according to numbers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The report also shows gun theft from a vehicle has among the lowest clearance rates for all theft-type crimes. A Tennessean report last month found that the majority of gun theft charges from 2022-2023 in Davidson County were dropped or dismissed due to lack of evidence. Attorneys noted a new law that stiffened the penalty for stealing a weapon from a misdemeanor to a felony has made cases harder to prosecute.