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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
A man was robbed at gunpoint and defrauded after leaving a bar on Broadway and getting into a vehicle that he thought was a rideshare vehicle or taxi.
31-year-old Dakota Blunt and another woman were inside the vehicle and allegedly held the man at gunpoint, stole his phone and wallet, and proceeded to open a credit card in his name, racking up $18,000 worth of charges to his bank account.
Metro Nashville Police were able to arrest Blunt and charged her with felony identity theft, felony property theft, felony aggravated robbery, and felony aggravated kidnapping.
As of this article’s publication, Blunt is being held in the Davidson County jail on a $235,000 bond.
According to court documents, the incident occurred on March 30th, 2025, just ten days after state lawmakers passed legislation creating the crimes of impersonation of a transportation network company driver and impersonation of a private passenger-for-hire vehicle driver.
SB0704/HB0786, sponsored by Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville-District 6) and Rep. Dan Howell (R- Cleveland-District 22), makes impersonation of a rideshare or taxi driver a Class B misdemeanor.
The crime escalates to a Class E felony if the violation is committed at the same time as another felony offense.
Now that the new law has gone into effect, should a situation like the Broadway armed robbery and fraud incident happen, officials could also charge the perpetrator with rideshare driver impersonation.
Uber and Lyft originally approached Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville-District 18) with the idea for the new law and she was able to roll the idea into legislation Rep. Howell planned to bring regarding fake taxi drivers.
“For me, it’s about deterrence,” Rep. Davis told WKRN back in March. “Those companies and those corporations, they invest a lot of time and money to ensure that those drivers have valid driver’s licenses, carry insurance, do background checks, and all of that is done for those passengers to feel safe and secure using those services.”
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
