Case: 12-91913
Date: November 30th, 2012
Time: 11:30 AM
Location: 10768 Lebanon Road (Trigreen Equipment)
Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – The Mt. Juliet Police Department has put an end to a multistate counterfeiting and theft operation that has plagued the whole southeast United States for weeks. This was possible with the help of a local merchant and corporate security partnership that ensured Mt. Juliet Police investigators had proper information to stop the multistate crime spree.
On November 30th, 2012, Mt. Juliet Police investigators acted on information they received from Honda Corporation security of a possible theft that was scheduled to occur sometime that day by an individual using a counterfeit check at Trigreen equipment in Mt. Juliet. Det. David Stolinsky, an investigator with Mt. Juliet Police, was able to gather intelligence from authorities in Arkansas on the suspect’s possible description from an earlier theft that occurred there. Trigreen equipment and Det. Stolinsky developed a plan if the suspect was to arrive at the store. The suspect arrived Friday just before Noon, and Det. Stolinsky observed the suspect purchase several electrical generators with a counterfeit check for $7,665.51. After the suspect completed the transaction and loaded the generators into his vehicle, he was taken into custody by undercover officers waiting in the parking lot of Trigreen. The suspect was identified as Jason Quintanilla, 39, of North Bay Villiage, Florida.
Stolen Honda generators in the back of Quintanilla’s vehicle.
“This is clearly a prime example of a great partnership between private corporations, local merchants, and police,” stated Mt. Juliet Police Chief Andy Garrett, “I’m humbled that Honda Corporation and Trigreen Equipment in Mt. Juliet trusted us with the intelligence that led to this discovery and apprehension.”
Det. Stolinsky’s initial investigation revealed that Quintanilla was not only going to strike Mt. Juliet to steal generators. Quintanilla had plans to hit three other Honda generator dealers in the Nashville-Metro area. Counterfeit checks were ready to be used at Chilton Turf Center in Nashville for $4,258.57, Howard’s Honda in Nashville for $6,578.76, and Honda of Cool Springs in Franklin for $7,236.93. In addition, the Lexus SUV that Quintanilla was driving had a stolen Tennessee license plate on it that was stolen from the Providence MarketPlace area early during the day of his arrest. Quintanilla, who is part of a larger criminal operation, was making the fraudulent purchases for an unnamed individual out of state. The preprinted checks were sent to Quintanilla, and the purchases were planned prior to Quintanilla arriving at the Honda dealers. Quintanilla stated to investigators that the group he is working for is selling the stolen generators in bulk, which are being shipped out of the country. The investigation is still ongoing and intelligence obtained during this incident has been passed to many state and federal authorities who continue pursue suspects related to this criminal operation.
Jason Quintanilla was arrested and booked into the Wilson County Jail on the following charges:
- Four Counts of Criminal Simulation (TCA 39-14-115) $20,000.00 Bond
- Theft of Property < $500.00 (TCA 39-14-103) $2,000.00 Bond
- Theft of Property > $1,00.00 (TCA 39-14-103) $2,000.00 Bond
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (TCA 39-14-425) $1,000.00 Bond
Jason Quintanilla, 39, of Florida
Quintanilla will appear in court on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 at 9:00 AM in Wilson County General Sessions.
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