MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS) - WGNS has an update to a news story that unfolded in Murfreesboro during the late-night hours of July 31, 2025, and continued into the morning of August 1 of last year at a 7-Eleven gas station on East Northfield Boulevard. Authorities report the case centers on four individuals, all Texas residents, who allegedly had their sights set on a large sum of cash inside the store’s ATM machine. Scroll down for more photos from the Murfreesboro Police Department. 

After the incident occurred, police reported that the suspects planned to use a stolen pickup truck to pull the ATM machine out of the store after smashing through the store’s front window with sledgehammers to create an opening for the machine’s removal. However, the theft did not go as planned. One member of what was originally a five-man team was shot and killed by a store customer inside the gas station, according to police.

After the suspects broke through the window during operating hours, the men began tying a steel cable around the ATM machine, which was mounted to the concrete floor of the gas station. As the machine was being secured to the cable that led to the truck, a customer inside the business pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking one of the five bandits.

The attempted ATM theft was cut short when one of the suspects was killed, leaving the remaining culprits with few options other than to flee the scene. According to investigators, the suspects left the store and quickly abandoned the stolen pickup truck at the Chariot Pointe Apartments, leaving behind a tell-tale sign of the truck’s involvement in the heist — a steel cable still dangling from the vehicle.

In addition to locating the pickup truck, Murfreesboro Police also discovered that an SUV was connected to the crime. Officers quickly disseminated details about the vehicle to other law enforcement agencies in Tennessee and surrounding states, which ultimately helped lead to the suspects’ capture.

Leaving one accomplice behind, the four suspects fled the area and headed toward Texas. However, they never reached their intended destination and were stopped by the long arm of the law in Arkansas.

Arkansas State Troopers located the suspects as they were traveling southwest on Interstate 30, roughly six hours from Murfreesboro, near Bryant, Arkansas. The traffic stop was initiated due to a traffic violation, along with information indicating the vehicle may have been involved in an attempted ATM theft that had occurred earlier that morning in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

After confirming with Tennessee authorities that the suspects were traveling in a 2021 Chevy Blazer, Arkansas State Police asked the men to exit the SUV. Without incident, all four were placed in handcuffs and transported to the Saline County Detention Center, located about 30 minutes southwest of Little Rock.

Arkansas State Police Colonel Mike Hagar stated, “The efficient actions of our troopers, along with strong coordination with out-of-state law enforcement, led to these arrests and helped prevent further criminal activity.”

Ten days after the suspects were arrested, they were transported back to Tennessee and booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center to face charges related to the attempted ATM theft in Murfreesboro. All four suspects have remained behind bars since their arrest and are scheduled to appear in the Rutherford County Circuit Courtroom of Judge James Turner next month.

Meki Hill, who is days away from his 25th birthday; DeAndre Lamar Hanks, 28; Tyron Patton III, also 28; and 25-year-old Khamondre Phillips are all facing charges for their alleged involvement in the attempted ATM heist that occurred in Murfreesboro last July. The four men, who are all from the Dallas, Texas area, were each charged with three counts of theft of property, one count of burglary, and one count of vandalism, all tied to the 7-Eleven gas station incident in 2025. The scheduled plea hearing will take place on April 29, 2026.

As for the man who was struck by gunfire at the gas station, he was later identified as 23-year-old Tyrese Montrell Walder Dennis of Dallas, Texas. Detectives reported that Dennis was pronounced dead at the scene by Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services. Family and friends said their final goodbyes to the young man on August 16, 2025 — 15 days after the incident in Murfreesboro.

During the early morning hours of the incident last year, police interviewed the customer who fired the fatal shot and later released him from the scene. At last check, no charges have been filed against the customer.

DISCLAIMER: All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The arrest records or information about an arrest that are published or reported on NewsRadio WGNS and www.WGNSradio.com are not an indication of guilt or evidence that an actual crime has been committed.