Drug task force agents seize loaded AK-style pistol during Sumner County traffic stop

SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Tuesday afternoon traffic stop along Interstate 65 in Sumner County led to the seizure of a loaded weapon and drugs.

An interdiction agent with the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force (JDTF) pulled over a Cadillac that was speeding and had illegal window tint on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at mile marker 98 on I-65.

The agent told News 2 that when he approached the car’s window, he immediately smelled marijuana. Once the driver got out of the vehicle, he admitted the occupants had just finished smoking a joint.

“You had one rolled up?” the law enforcement officer asked, as seen in a recording of the interaction.

“Yeah, we had a smoke on the way here,” the driver replied, adding that there was probably just a little left in the baggie.

When the backseat passenger, 23-year-old Ja’Rei Kindred of Chicago, was asked to exit the vehicle, the agent said he was very concerned about taking his backpack with him.

“You can leave your bag,” the agent said.

“It has all my clothes,” Kindred responded.

“That’s fine, just leave it,” the agent instructed.

“I asked the defendant in this case, Mr. Kindred, to exit the vehicle, and when he did, he attempted to take a backpack with him, so then he took his jacket off that he was wearing and tried to cover up the backpack with his jacket, so naturally the first thing I searched was the backpack and found this,” the agent explained, showing News 2 the weapon in question.

In the end, authorities took Kindred into custody, seizing the firearm and a small amount of marijuana.

The agent said Kindred reported he was delivering the gun — described as a 7.62×39 caliber AK-47 pistol, which was loaded with 23 bullets — to his cousin who was visiting Nashville.

According to the agent, the firearm is not illegal in and of itself, but “if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can become an issue.”

The agent told News 2 Kindred has a violent history out of Chicago, including assault on a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest.

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Kindred is being held in the Sumner County Jail on a $75,000 bond, facing charges for facilitation of possession with intent to sell or deliver Schedule VI substance, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He is due in court on Oct. 25.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is currently looking into the gun to figure out how it came into Kindred’s possession and whether it has been used in a prior crime.

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