Ashland City arrest leads to break in Dickson County auto burglary investigation

Several traffic cops with the Ashland City Police Department followed their gut instinct, which not only resulted in the recovery of stolen property, but also benefited a case in Dickson County.

According to an ACPD arrest report, ACPD officers were stationed near the Circle K on South Main Street in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 21, when they saw a red sedan pull up to the gas pump. The driver, later identified as Seth Ryan Hall, 31, of Ashland City, reportedly exited the vehicle while looking around and nervously entered the convenience store.

Officers decided to run the license plate number, but it was not on file. Hall returned, filled up with gas, and drove off, at which point ACPD officers began pursuing him. After driving at a high rate of speed for several minutes, officers stopped Hall. Hall allegedly told officers he did not have a valid driver’s license, at which point his license was shown as suspended. Officers reported asking Hall to exit the vehicle and ask for permission to search the vehicle, which Hall allegedly granted.

During the search, officers found a .22 caliber handgun with a loaded magazine, a glass pipe used to smoke methamphetamines, a cigarette pack containing crystals that later tested as methamphetamines, and a Tennessee Department of Correction badge. A search of the handgun’s serial number revealed it had been stolen in Davidson County, and a search of the TDOC badge number revealed it had been stolen in Dickson County. Officers also stated that a criminal history check also revealed a decades-old conviction for Hall for violating probation.

TDOC Communications Director Dorinda Carter confirmed that TDOC did not have an employee named Seth Ryan Hall.

According to Dickson County Sheriff Tim Eads, the TDOC sticker was stolen from a vehicle in White Bluff on Thursday, July 18. The stolen vehicle was one of around two dozen vehicles broken into along Petty Road between Charlotte and White Bluff. Eads said it is not yet known if Hall was involved in the car thefts, only that he had the missing TDOC sticker on his person. Eads also said that while he could not go into details because the investigation was ongoing, information from Hall’s arrest investigation in Ashland City led to the arrest of suspects James Thomas Dubois, Jr. and Billy Ray Perry in Dickson County for the car thefts.

Hall was charged with possession of meth, possession of illegal drug paraphernalia, driving while license revoked, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, theft of a firearm under $2,500 and theft under $1,000. Hall will appear in Cheatham County General Sessions Court on Wednesday, July 31. As of press time, no charges had been filed against Hall in Dickson County.