Two Scam Suspects Free on Bond from Arrests Earlier This Year Arrested Again

A concerted effort by Entertainment District Officers and Violent Crimes detectives to interdict a fraud scam being run on residents and tourists alike has led to the weekend arrests of two 19-year-olds, both of whom were free on bond following their arrests in fraud cases earlier this year.

Dewaine Gordon was jailed Saturday on charges of robbery, two counts of credit card fraud, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Gordon was at the intersection of 12th Avenue South and Beechwood Avenue, an area with high pedestrian traffic, when he and two juvenile teens seeking candy donations approached a woman about contributing money to them. As part of the scam, cash donations are not accepted. The scammers seek electronic donations via cell phones. In this instance, Gordon asked to see the victim's cell phone, and while holding it, transferred $840 from her bank account to himself. Gordon is also charged with two counts of credit card fraud stemming from an incident downtown in the early morning hours of last Wednesday. A visitor from Mississippi walked out of a Broadway honkytonk when he was approached by Gordon and two other young men. They claimed to be local artists and asked to see the victim's phone under the guise of adding him to their social media followers. He handed the phone to Gordon. When the victim got it back, he left the area, only to realize a short time later that his Apple Pay account had been used in two separate withdrawal transactions for $421 and $453. Gordon was positively identified by the victim when shown a photo lineup.

Lakeel Horton was arrested downtown early Saturday after Entertainment District officers spotted him and knew that he was wanted on two outstanding credit card fraud warrants for joining Gordon in scamming the Mississippi victim.

At the time of his arrest Saturday, Gordon was free on a $10,000 bond following his arrest in January on charges of credit card fraud, theft, and identity theft. At the time of his arrest Saturday, Horton was free on a $1,000 bond stemming from his arrest in March for theft. He was accused of stealing $1,000 from a victim outside a Hermitage grocery store after asking to see his phone as part of the candy scam where the victim thought he was making a $5 donation.

Nashvillians are urged to protect themselves from these scams by retaining possession of cell phones at all times and never letting strangers handle them.