Mt. Juliet Police Newsroom

Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – After a lengthy search, two suspects were apprehended after running away from a stolen truck, alerted to officers by Guardian Shield. Around 9:05 a.m. this morning, Guardian Shield alerted officers to a stolen 2004 Dodge Ram pick-up truck as it entered the city from Hermitage on Lebanon Road. An officer spotted the truck, and two suspects quickly abandoned it and ran away into a wooded area.

Officers and Wilson County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the search area, north of Lebanon Road, along Lakeshore Drive and Needmore Road. Around 11:00 a.m., the passenger was apprehended while hiding behind Schmitt Dental at 14221 Lebanon Road. The search continued for the driver, and citizens reported him running along Lakeshore Drive towards Saundersville Road. After a few sightings, the driver was apprehended around 4:45 p.m. while hiding behind furniture under a home’s deck in the 300 block of Lakeshore Drive.

Methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and blank checks for different individuals were located in the truck, which was stolen from a Franklin Kroger on 9/10/2021 while left running.

Nashville Airport’s K9 Havoc responded to assist K9 Majlo when he tired out due to the heat.

Both suspects were wanted from other areas and booked into the Wilson County Jail on local charges. The driver was 38-year-old Honold Bilbrey of Jamestown, TN, and he was wanted out of Ashland City and Knox County for a Probation Violation, Five Counts of Felony Burglary, and 2 counts of Criminal Simulation. In addition, he was charged locally with Felony Theft, Felony Evading, and Driving on a Revoked DL. The passenger was 37-year-old Nicholas Kane of Nashville, TN, and he was charged locally with Resisting Arrest, Possession of Meth, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

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This afternoon, around 4:22 p.m., Guardian Shield alerted officers to a stolen Nissan Altima as it entered the city limits from Hermitage. Officers located the car on Lebanon Road near Mt. Juliet Road and attempted to stop it. Within moments, the driver did an abrupt u-turn and sideswiped another motorist. Officers continued their attempt to stop the stolen car and successfully deployed a spike system, which led to the pursuit ending on Woodridge Place near Placid Drive.

The driver was 15-year-old male, and passengers included two 16-year-old males and one 14-year-old female. All were from Nashville and in possession of Marijuana.

The stolen car victim, out of Clarksville, reported the 2014 Nissan Altima stolen on 8/19/2021.

No one was injured during the event.

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The evading suspect from yesterday’s search, 46-year-old Joseph Krantz, was apprehended moments ago after continued efforts from MJPD officers.

Yesterday afternoon, a detective stopped a vehicle near Publix on Lebanon Rd due to an expired tag violation, where Krantz was the driver. Krantz immediately ran from the vehicle, and the detective stayed with the adult female passenger while other officers searched the area. After determining the identity of Krantz, officers stopped the enhanced search and focused on other methods for apprehension. It was also discovered that he was wanted out of Nashville, Cheatham county, and Humphreys county for misdemeanor warrants.

Krantz was located around 10:00 a.m. this morning near N. Mt. Juliet Rd and Pleasant Grove Rd, where he was arrested. He was charged locally with evading and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Mt. Juliet Middle School is implementing a new arrival and dismissal plan on Monday, August 23, communicated to Wilson County Schools parents. The new traffic plan allows more car rider traffic to queue onto school property, which should relieve the backup queue from blocking traffic on N. Mt. Juliet Road, Woodridge Place, and Charlie Daniels Parkway.

Since the beginning of the new school year, the department has been communicating with school administration and monitoring the impacts of Mt. Juliet Middle School’s arrival and dismissal traffic. As a result, a meeting took place last Thursday with school, police, and city representatives to discuss an alternative traffic plan, and all worked together to develop the new plan in hopes it provides traffic relief.

“I’m grateful for our partnership with Wilson County Schools, and we always work together for the safety of our community- especially our students,” stated Chief James Hambrick. “We are hopeful that the new plan will alleviate the gridlock during school traffic, and our officers will be assisting during the implementation of the new plan on Monday.”

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Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – Public safety officials are excited to announce the launch of MJAlert, which brings back community notifications & emergency alerts via text message back to the community. MJAlert is a free service to community members, powered by Rave / Smart911, that allows individuals to sign up for notifications sent from City authorities. MJAlert keeps residents and visitors informed on potentially hazardous situations & community information involving the police department, fire department, parks department, city government, or traffic impacts within the community. In addition, MJAlert will notify for construction blasting notifications for those who register for such messages.

“MJAlert brings us back to an alerting platform that our community loved, which was text message-based notifications,” said Police Chief James Hambrick. “Our engagement on the current app-based alerting platform has been weak, and we want to ensure our community has multiple ways to receive alerts- especially with a simple text message.”

Sign Up on the Web:

Community members can sign up for free at https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=mtjuliet to receive timely and actionable alerts via email, text, or voice message. They can also identify when and how they are alerted and communicated before, during, and after emergencies.

Sign Up by Text Message:

For a faster sign-up option, community members can simply text “MJ” to the phone number “67283” for MJAlert notifications. For construction blasting notifications, community members can text “Blast” to the phone number “67283”.

Use the Smart911 App:

Community members can also download the Smart911 app to sign up for MJAlert to receive essential information needed in an emergency. The Smart911 app provides enhanced functionality by sending targeted alerts based on the user’s location. Smart911 app users will receive the highest priority National Weather Service alerts, including tornado warnings, flash flood warnings, and severe thunderstorm warnings based on their real-time location. Download the Smart911 App on the Apple Store or Google Play or text “Smart911” to phone number “67283”.

Frequently asked questions can be answered here: https://www.mtjuliet-tn.gov/1580/MJAlert-Community-Notifications

The AtlasOne app-based alerting platform will be quickly phased out, and all community members are encouraged to sign-up for MJAlert to continue to receive alerts.

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