MT. JULIET, Tenn. — A routine traffic stop turned into an unexpected act of service when Mt. Juliet police arrested a wanted man Sunday afternoon, with the help of the city’s license plate recognition (LPR) system. The arrest occurred on January 12, when the Mt. Juliet Police Department (MJPD) was alerted about a vehicle linked to a person with a warrant out of Rutherford County.
According to MJPD, officers were notified by the Guardian Shield LPR program, which identified a vehicle connected to 34-year-old Larry Lane, a Smyrna resident. Lane was wanted for failure to appear in court on illegal drug charges. Police quickly located the vehicle on Lebanon Road near Park Glen Drive, where they initiated the arrest.
In a surprising twist, Lane was in the midst of delivering a pizza when the officers made the arrest. Rather than leaving the customer without their order, one of the officers took it upon themselves to complete the delivery.
“Just another way we serve—even if it means delivering pizza!” the Mt. Juliet Police Department wrote in a lighthearted post on their Facebook page, sharing the unusual but heartwarming story.
Lane was arrested and transported to the Wilson County Jail, where he was booked on the outstanding charges. The quick work of the LPR system and the officers involved helped ensure justice was served while also providing an unexpected act of kindness to a local customer.