Herbert Marsh, Music City Pawn Robbery, Tennessee 2018

NASHVILLE – A brazen daylight heist shook Music City in 2018, and now, one of the perpetrators is facing justice. Herbert Marsh, 31, was convicted on six counts related to the robbery of Music City Pawn on June 26, 2018.

The trio, which included James Horton, 27, and Hakeem Mannie, 32, entered the store wearing masks and gloves, with one of them armed with a handgun equipped with an extended magazine and a weapon-mounted light. Two employees were ordered to the ground and bound with cable, and one was dragged to the rear of the store to open the safe.

The thieves made off with 11 firearms and nearly $8,000 in cash, fleeing the scene in a U-Haul van. However, their getaway was short-lived, as Metropolitan Nashville police officers stopped a BMW at the intersection of 24th Ave. N. and Rosa Parks Blvd. for a traffic violation. Officers identified James Horton as the driver and Mannie and Marsh as two of the three passengers.

During the subsequent investigation, five stolen firearms were recovered from the vehicle, four of which were taken during the robbery at Music City Pawn. Video surveillance and witness statements also linked the trio to the robbery and the recovery of the U-Haul van at Marsh’s sister’s house, which was used during the getaway.

Marsh faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year. Two others, James Horton and Hakeem Mannie, previously pleaded guilty to the charges. Mannie was sentenced in January 2019 to 176 months in prison, while Horton awaits sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke K. Schiferle and Juliet Aldridge prosecuted the case.

Marsh was convicted on six counts, including conspiracy, robbery, theft, possession of stolen firearms, being a convicted felon in possession of firearms, and witness tampering. The jury acquitted Marsh of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

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