'Shoot Me, Shoot Me' Suspected Serial Thief Begs; Nashville Police Arrest Him Instead

HERMITAGE, TN — Leslee Toche begged police to shoot him as they attempted to arrest him Saturday night outside a Hermitage hotel. Instead, officers wrestled away his gun and got him into custody, according to Metro Police.

Toche, 28, is charged with counts of aggravated robbery counts and remains under investigation in several others. Undercover detectives located him Saturday night in his car outside the Vista Inn & Suites on Old Hickory Boulevard.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

When they approached the car, they ordered him to put up his hands, but instead, according to police, he grabbed at his waistband and dove into the backseat. When the officers got into the car, they saw a pistol, pulled it away from him and threw it into the front dash as Toche allegedly yelled "shoot me, shoot me."

Toche is charged with robbing a Bell Road Subway Friday, forcing his way into a woman’s Hickory Hollow Terrace apartment on Saturday afternoon, and robbing an acquaintance at her Spears Road home on September 9.

He is being held in lieu of $115,000 bond. Detectives are withholding his photograph until lineups can be completed in connections with other investigations.

Image via Shutterstock