CLARKSVILLE, TN (WKRN) — Technology played a vital role as a Clarksville man tracked his stolen truck and then the two suspects, who, according to police, turned out to be teenagers who’d escaped from a treatment facility over the weekend.
The two teens were part of a group that overpowered a guard and escaped a treatment facility Saturday night in Nashville.
“I didn’t even know they broke out of a juvenile center here in Nashville, and I’m like how did they wind up here at my house?” Benjamin Bettinger explained to WKRN-News 2.
It was early Monday morning when investigators with the Muhlenberg County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky believe 15-year-old Bruce Johnson Jr. of Clarksville and 17-year-old Bryan Reid of Johnson City found themselves in Clarksville.
“There were two individuals with flashlights going through the truck,” Bettinger explained as he saw his truck stolen from his driveway.
He tried to chase them, grabbing his gun in the process. The suspects sideswiped another car, as they made off with Bettinger following.
“I was face-to-face with the dude when he did the U-turn because he stopped. And I was like, this kid doesn’t look anything over 18, 19 years old, so I’m like, I can’t shoot a kid and all that, hoping he would get out. But he tried to run me over, so we just let him go at that point,” he said.
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Bettinger was able to track his truck to Kentucky through a Uconnect app where he recovered it through the sheriff’s department.
“They recovered the truck. They couldn’t get the individuals – they said they ran towards the interstate and they couldn’t.”
Investigators in Muhlenberg County said the teens stole another vehicle from the driveway of a residence.
Bettinger was then able to track the suspects for several hours through his stolen AirPods, showing they came back to Clarksville from Kentucky before making their way to Cheatham County.
“Somehow, I was lucky enough to get a ping symbol from them. I pretty much was my own detective seemed like,” Bettinger said.
Johnson Jr. and Reid were taken into custody in Cheatham County Tuesday night after a reported carjacking with a child in the back seat.
“It could have went south really bad that night. I mean I know that they did a crime, I’m just glad that they are safe too. That’s all I can do. I mean they are just kids, but am I a little mad about it? Absolutely,” he stated.
Cheatham County officers said the teens were taken back to Metro to a secure facility where they could face felony charges.
From Clarksville Now news partner WKRN-Channel 2 in Nashville.