BERRY HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) -- A homeless man well known to the Berry Hill Police Department is behind bars after he allegedly stole an iPad from a business. According to authorities, the business owner was instrumental in recovering her device.

Around 7 p.m. on April 15, law enforcement said 44-year-old Mack Peoples Jr. entered the Berry Hill business through a rear door and took a $1,200 iPad.

The business owner told News 2 it was a frightening experience: "I'll be honest, I've never had that happen. It felt very unnerving to think that somebody had come in."

According to BHPD, Peoples tried to sell the stolen iPad to a gas station attendant for $50, but when the attendant refused, the chronic offender accepted $5. Then, the attendant reportedly sold it to an electronics store in South Nashville.

Surveillance footage of Peoples pushing a shopping cart behind the business was a key piece of the puzzle for police.

"We've had him in the past couple years with trespassing, with breaking into vehicles, shoplifting, assaults on other people, so we are very familiar with him. As soon as I saw his video and his picture, I knew exactly who we had there," BHPD Sgt. Tony Russo said.

According to Russo, Peoples has been arrested 83 times in Davidson County over the course of seven years.

"How does that make your job tough as a cop when you have to keep re-arresting the same people over and over and over dozens of times?" News 2's Andy Cordan asked.

"It makes it tough because we keep seeing these guys. We wish they would get some help or get locked up or get something out of this, but we have to keep getting them, bringing them back to jail as they re-offend," Russo replied.

News 2 asked the Davidson County District Attorney's office about Peoples. A spokesperson described the 44-year-old as a habitual offender who typically commits low-level misdemeanors, pleads guilty, serves his time, gets out, and re-offends

In the meantime, law enforcement said they will keep arresting Peoples and others like him.

"They can keep letting them out, but we're going to keep locking them back up if they re-offend," Russo said.

The victim told News 2 that she traced her iPad to the South Nashville store and retrieved it, but the store had already reset her device to factory settings.

Neither the store clerks nor the gas station attendant who paid $5 for the iPad have been charged.

The Berry Hill business owner said the incident has been eye-opening, adding that she's changed her locks and upgraded her security.

"It would have been really scary. Just, you know, when you're not there, and I could have been in there and they walked in, so yeah, it definitely was an uncomfortable feeling," the victim said.

According to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, Peoples was booked into the Downtown Detention Center on April 22 and is being held on a $15,000 bond for felony burglary and felony theft of property worth more than $1,000 but less than $2,500. The DA's office told News 2 that Peoples is due back in court on Friday, May 2.

The DA's office said Peoples pleaded guilty to a Class D felony in March 2024 and was sentenced as a multiple offender. He served his time and was released.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/man-arrested-80-times-in-davidson-county-accused-of-stealing-ipad-from-berry-hill-business/