A sex offender is back behind bars in Nashville after police said he was linked to an armed robbery that happened last year.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A sex offender is back behind bars in Nashville after police said he was linked to an armed robbery that happened last year.
Tyrone Derrell Harris, 47, was booked into the Downtown Detention Center on Wednesday, Oct. 2 on 27 different charges, ranging from aggravated robbery to sex offender violation.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Sex Offender Registry, Harris was convicted of statutory rape in 2001 and attempted rape in 2008.
Since then, court records show Harris has repeatedly violated his registration status by failing to complete required updates and committing other crimes while under community supervision.
Metro Nashville police said it was a pink bracelet on Harris’ wrist and a “unique tattoo” on his hand that helped them identify him as a suspect in a Jan. 10, 2023, robbery at the Mini Mart on Foster Avenue.
Surveillance footage captured Harris entering the store that day, according to an arrest affidavit. At the time, investigators said he was wearing a white medical face mask, ball cap, dark clothing and “distinct” tennis shoes.
Soon after walking through the front door, authorities said Harris pulled out a gun and went behind the cashier counter. He allegedly pointed the gun at employees while one of them opened the drawer.
Harris then took all of the cash from the drawer — totaling to around $850 — and ran off, police reported. An employee told officers Harris got into a white Dodge Dart with a temporary tag.
During a review of the surveillance footage, detectives said they spotted a tattoo and pink bracelet on the gunman’s hand as he was pointing the weapon.
Footage prior to the robbery appeared to show a man with the same tattoo and bracelet sitting in a white car outside the store.
Investigators said the man, believed to be Harris, was conversing with a security guard who later could be seen handing him what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun. The security guard was listed as a co-defendant in the case.
In the affidavit, police said the “unique identifiers and video footage” led to charges being filed against Harris.
The charges against him include several counts of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as eight counts of community supervision violation and five counts of sex offender registration violation.
Arrest records show he is being held in lieu of an over $780,000 bond.