Matthew Carter, 25, had a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend Hannah Whitaker late on June 8 at their Luton Street apartment. Whitaker told officers Carter took her phone and prevented her from calling 911. When officers then spoke to Carter, he stated that he and Whitaker had a verbal altercation. Whitaker further stated that she was about to record Carter when he snatched the phone from her, which he later admitted to doing. Whitaker stated that she repeatedly asked Carter to give her her phone back so she could call the police, but he did not. Afterward, Carter left the apartment with her cellphone in his car. Whitaker told officers she went to a neighbor’s house to notify authorities as soon as he left. Carter said when he returned, he put the phone down for her to get it. Officers then reviewed surveillance camera footage from her home and showed Whitaker asking Carter to return her phone multiple times as he continued to walk around the property and load items into his car before driving away. Carter was then taken into custody for interfering with a 911 call.

Then on August 13, around 8 p.m., officers were dispatched to East Trinity Lane and Meridian Street because a person later identified as Carter had intentionally rammed his blue pickup truck into another vehicle with an occupant inside. When police arrived, they spoke with Chance Benner, who stated he had been sitting in his car waiting to pick up Hannah Whitaker at Mary Market after she had an argument with her ex-boyfriend, Carter. Benner stated he observed Carter pull up in a blue Dodge pickup truck. Carter motioned to Benner to roll down his window and asked him who he was going to pick up. Benner said he and Carter exchanged a few words before Carter pulled out of the parking space onto Meridian Street. Afterward, Benner told officers Carter backed his truck into gear and rammed it into the rear quarter of the passenger side of his vehicle. Then, Benner said, he began chasing Carte. However, Carter backed away from the scene. Whitaker told police she observed the incident from a distance. Officers then reviewed surveillance footage that confirmed Benner’s statements. Shortly afterward, police found Carter’s blue Dodge pickup near his relative’s home. A warrant was issued for Carter’s arrest and he was later taken into custody on August 14 on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Matthew Harold Carter, of Luton Street in Nashville, Tennessee, was booked into the Metro Nashville Jail on August 14. He is charged with interfering with a 911 call and assault with a deadly weapon. He is free on $5,100 bail.

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