JACKSON, TN (WGNS) - Murfreesboro Police say a man who tried to rob the Ascend Federal Credit Union on Memorial Boulevard Tuesday afternoon didn’t get far — thanks to a fast‑moving trail of digital breadcrumbs. NOTICE: Police released eroneous information, suspect fled into woods and is still at large--CLICK HERE

Detectives and crime analysts inside the Murfreesboro Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center immediately began pulling camera feeds and scanning license plate reader (LPR) hits after the attempted robbery. The suspect never got away with any money, but he did get away in a vehicle — at least for a little while.

LPR alerts helped analysts follow that vehicle as it moved west across the state. Before long, the digital trail led investigators to the Jackson, Tennessee area, where officers took the man into custody. He’s now facing an attempted aggravated robbery charge for the Murfreesboro incident on June 16, along with an aggravated robbery charge tied to a bank robbery in Lebanon. Detectives say the investigation is still active.

If it feels like these kinds of cases are being solved faster than they used to be, that’s because they are. Technology is reshaping the way law enforcement tracks, identifies, and arrests suspects — and Murfreesboro’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), launched in the summer of 2024, is one of the clearest examples of that shift.

Inside the RTCC, analysts can instantly access public safety cameras, LPR hits, mapping tools, and real‑time data streams. When a crime occurs, they can watch a suspect vehicle move across town in real time and relay updates to officers already on the ground. What once took hours of detective work can now unfold in minutes.

And Murfreesboro isn’t alone. Agencies across Tennessee are seeing similar results as LPR networks expand statewide. In Jackson, for example, LPRs recently helped officers nab another suspect shortly after a crime occurred.

The message to would‑be criminals is getting louder: in 2026, the digital trail is tough to outrun. Whether someone is rolling through Murfreesboro or crossing county lines, technology is closing the gap — fast.

WGNS News reminds you that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.