Federal and local law enforcement arrested 44 people on gun and drug charges this weekend after undercover agents made controlled purchases around the city, including one that ended with federal agents killing two people earlier this month.
Several agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and Metro Nashville Police Department, provided assistance or carried out the arrests. Officials from the agencies announced the arrests at a news conference Aug. 24.
"This is a community that has seen more than its fair share of violence," U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Braden Boucek said during a news conference Aug. 24. "In 2024 alone, violent crime in Nashville was more than three
times the national average. That is unacceptable, and taxpayers have demanded solutions from their leaders. We have heard you. This is what paying attention looks like."
In 2024, Nashville had 104 homicides, one more than the year before, but there was a 5% reduction in overall violent crimes, according to data from the Nashville Police Department.
Since then, violent crimes have continued to fall. Last year there was a 28% reduction in homicides and violent crimes were down 14%. That trend continues this year with a 44% reduction in homicides and 15% reduction in violent crimes compared to the same time last year, according to the police department's data.
"You know precision policing is one of our core pillars of our police department, and that means that we don't saturate neighborhoods. We try to, in a precise way, identify individuals that are putting innocent families at extreme risk," Nashville Police chief John Drake said during the conference.
But that appears to be what happened when three years of data including shots fired calls, shooting crimes and analysis from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network pinpointed specific neighborhoods in Nashville where these incidents were most common.
An ATF office in another state looked at the collected data and determined the focus areas of the operation without regard to population or socioeconomic factors, Boucek said. Drake said officials focused on "Harding Place/I-24 corridor, Bell Road-Murfreesboro Pike area, Brick Church Pike-Trinity Lane corridor, and the Napier-Sudekum neighborhood" as "vulnerable communities where data showed" the operation should focus.
Undercover federal agents then went into these neighborhoods, bought firearms and narcotics.
That included an Aug. 6 operation that ended with 32-year-old James Salinas and 16-year-old Denzel Molina dead.Agents with the ATF were at a storage unit facility off Landers Avenue near Thompson Lane before 1 p.m. Aug. 6 to investigate the illegal sale of guns, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
"ATF agents in one instance came under fire. That fire was returned by federal agents," Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron said Aug. 6. "In another instance, almost immediately thereafter, a weapon, a gun, was directed by another individual at an ATF agent. The person directing that gun also came under fire."
Boucek said Salinas was under indictment for firearms trafficking when agents went to arrest him that day.
"He had already sold 27 illegal firearms to undercover federal agents, and was in the process of selling another 10," Boucek said. "And those firearms were not just pistols, but included high-powered assault rifles."
Boucek declined to answer any questions about the shooting investigation and deferred questions to the TBI.
A GoFundMe to defray funeral expenses launched the day after the shooting.
"On August 6, I received the worst news of my life. My 16-year-old son, Denzel, left to go to work, and I never imagined that someone would knock on my door to tell me he had died. The circumstances are still under investigation, following a shooting that claimed my son's life," it read.
"Today, all I can do is express my pain and hope for justice. I ask for your prayers and support so that I can provide funeral services for my son. I am grateful for your help and love during these difficult times for my family."
Law enforcement seized more than 160 firearms and multiple switches that turn pistols into machine guns during the operation, officials said during the news conference. Agents also seized two kilograms of methamphetamine, more than one kilogram of fentanyl and more than 0.5 kilograms of crack and cocaine.
Many of the people who were arrested have not yet had their initial appearance in court.
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police, federal officials arrest 44 in illegal gun operation
