Rutherford County felon accused in two carjackings taken down by Metro canine team

Erin McCullough
·2 min read
33

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A convicted felon on probation out of Rutherford County is now jailed in Nashville for allegedly committing two carjackings Wednesday evening before a police canine team caught up with him on railroad tracks, according to Metro police.

Detectives assigned to the Specialized Investigations Division’s Neighborhood Safety Unit were in the area of the Super 8 Motel on Murfreesboro Pike when they saw a man later identified as Elijah Malik McDowell, 27, carjack a black Dodge Charger from a 35-year-old victim.

Elijah McDowell
Elijah McDowell mugshot (Source: Metro Nashville Police Department)

According to authorities, detectives attempted to stop the Charger, but McDowell kept going, prompting officers to use a spike strip to stop him from continuing in the vehicle. McDowell then ran off the right side of I-440 and overturned the Charger before running into a nearby neighborhood.

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There he spotted a father and his two children, ages 3 and 7, who were getting into a Toyota Tundra pickup truck, which he also tried to carjack. Police said the dad fought with McDowell while the children were out of the vehicle.

McDowell was reportedly able to get inside the vehicle and drove to Sadler Avenue, where he got out, ran into the woods, and then onto nearby railroad tracks. That’s when a police canine team caught up to him and took him into custody.

Elijah McDowelll Case Gun
Elijah McDowell Case Gun (Source: Metro Nashville Police Department)

Officers later said a gun was recovered next to the first carjacked vehicle.

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McDowell was treated at a hospital for dog bites to his foot. He was booked Thursday morning on two counts of carjacking, two counts of felony evading arrest, unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon, gun use during the commission of a violent felony, possessing a “Glock switch” that makes a gun fully automatic, aggravated assault for driving at the two children, reckless driving, resisting arrest, and driving on a revoked license.

A judicial commissioner set his bond at $211,000.

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