Fighting for Rutherford County

A nearly two-year undercover investigation involving illegal drugs, gang activity, and firearms has resulted in the indictment of 33 people, following a 2023 overdose death of a Murfreesboro man.

Detectives from the Murfreesboro Police Department’s Special Investigations Section and agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation launched the joint investigation in November 2023 after an individual died from a fatal overdose. Detectives from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) also took part in the investigation. In early 2024, investigators identified multiple suppliers connected to the overdose death.

Officers executed residential search warrants in Murfreesboro, confiscating large quantities of fentanyl powder and pills.

As the investigation expanded, authorities uncovered a network of high-level fentanyl distributors operating out of Nashville and supplying Murfreesboro and surrounding communities.

By late 2024, investigators identified known gang members within the drug trafficking operation.

In early 2025, investigators intercepted plans by members to commit first-degree murder. MPD investigators and MNPD’s intervention led to the arrest of three suspects, preventing a potential homicide.

Further investigation revealed cartel involvement with individuals being arrested for attempting to deliver large quantities of fentanyl to areas in Middle Tennessee, including Murfreesboro, as well as the discovery of a fentanyl lab in Nashville and the seizure of additional narcotics.

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement seized:

• 15 pounds of fentanyl (powder and pills)
• 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine
• 2.1 pounds of heroin
• 2 pounds of cocaine
• 61 firearms, including automatic weapons and guns linked to homicides
• Body armor and suppressors
• 15 vehicles and three stolen vehicles
• $175,000 in illicit U.S. currency
• 17 residential search warrants
• Evidence linked to two fatal overdoses

Authorities indicted 33 defendants on charges ranging from second-degree homicide to fentanyl distribution. The overall impact of these operations could potentially have delivered lethal doses of fentanyl to over three million individuals, according to detectives.

The Murfreesboro Police Department’s Special Investigations Section and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Middle Tennessee Drug-Related Death Task Force (HIDTA) led the operation. The investigation was supported by:

• Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
• Drug Enforcement Administration – TDS
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
• Smyrna Police Department
• Tennessee Highway Patrol – Interdiction Unit
• La Vergne Police Department
• Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
• 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force

Each of these individuals has been indicted on the following charges:

• Gregory Holt (29) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Chandler Steward (26) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Mark Buchanan (28) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Adarrius Howard (26) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Bryant Parker (27) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Deborah Woodard (29) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Jalisha Davis (33) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess with Intent x3, Possession of firearm with Intent to go armed during a dangerous felony, Manufacture, deliver, Sell, Possess Schedule II, Schedule II drugs Fentanyl, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use
• Thomas Dixon (33) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess with Intent x3, Possession of firearm with Intent to go armed during a dangerous felony, Manufacture, deliver, Sell, Possess Schedule II, Schedule II drugs Fentanyl, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use
• Brandon Littman (29) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Kaitlin Gann (26) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Evan Overstreet (24) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Keith Denton (66) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Second Degree Murder: Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Schedule II Fentanyl x6, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use x6, Simple Possession of Methamphetamine
• Michael Denton (33) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Second Degree Murder: Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Schedule II Fentanyl x6, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use x6, Simple Possession of Methamphetamine
• Omar Ponce (21) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Rickey Holman (37) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Ernesto Duran- Hernandez (38) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use
• Jesus Mendoza-Viera (27) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Maintaining a Dwelling for Drug Use
• Elliot Rutledge (42) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Anthony Chambers (22) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Justin Brake (38) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Preston Davis (31) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Harlen Zirker Jr (24) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Jobie Elliot (35) – Second Degree Murder: Fentanyl, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Schedule II: Fentanyl
• Ashley Peters (37) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl, Attempted Possession Schedule II Drugs: Fentanyl
• Marari Belin (39) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Gabriella Wolcott (31) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl
• Brittany Sledd (43) – Conspiracy to Manufacture, Deliver, Sell, Possess Fentanyl

There are outstanding warrants for six more individuals.