Deshawn Mitchell Rudd
After an investigation that lasted for six months, Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Detectives have arrested Deshawn Mitchell Rudd, who is connected to dozens of burglaries at convenience stores throughout East Tennessee, including three in northern Bradley County.
On July 22, 2019, a burglary was reported from a convenience store on Hiwassee Street in Charleston, Tn., where a suspect forced entry into the business by breaking the glass door. The suspect was wearing a unique white mask concealing his identity. Hundreds of dollars in tobacco products were taken from the store.
Two additional burglaries occurred in Charleston, Tn. on Oct. 13, 2019, at stores on Lauderdale Memorial Highway and another on Hiwassee Street. The suspect was observed wearing the same mask as the first burglary in July of 2019 and again took tobacco products from each store. A neighboring county received an anonymous tip regarding numerous convenience store burglaries throughout Eastern Tennessee, and provided the name of the suspect, Deshawn Mitchell Rudd.
Bradley County investigators began sharing information with other Tennessee counties and Rudd was soon apprehended, during a traffic stop, by Knox County investigators shortly after he had committed another convenience store burglary on Dec. 22, 2019. Evidence collected from inside of Rudd’s vehicle linked him to the burglaries in Bradley County in July and October 2019 as well as other Tennessee counties.
Rudd was booked into the Bradley County Jail on Jan. 8, and has been charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft over $2,500 and three counts of vandalism over $1,000. There are numerous other charges pending in other Tennessee counties.