‘The same names’: Davidson County grand jury report highlights repeat retail theft offenders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A recent grand jury report put into writing what officers see on a daily basis: criminals breaking into businesses, stealing goods, and getting away. The report called the phenomenon a "financial burden on consumers."

"We're seeing organized groups that plan to come up there, they separate, the divide and they go in and they take multiple thousands of dollars," commander Kevin Lovell told News 2 earlier this year.

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Police data showed that in October, the department investigated nearly 80 incidents of commercial burglary ranging from vape shops , jewelry stores , and even big-box stores. Commercial burglary has risen across four precincts compared to this time last year, including West, Central, North and Madison.

A recent grand jury report out of Davidson County revealed that residents saw that "retail theft can lead to increased prices as businesses attempt to recover losses." Further, the grand jury reported that they "frequently heard the same names committing these offenses."

"A lot of the people we were getting that were shoplifting at Tanger were also banned from places like Green Hills, Nashville One, Opry Mills," Lovell added.

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Among the recent arrests, Jeremy Bryan and Brandy Lukowski were charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from stores across Nashville. According to police, on ten different occasions, they would go to Target on White Bridge Road, steal items, and sell them again for profit.

The grand jury ultimately concluded that they thought current punishments for retail thefts were insufficient, adding that "stricter penalties for individuals who repeatedly commit crimes are needed to deter future offenses."