A Tennessee man has broken his silence after helping police capture quadruple murder suspect Austin Robert Drummond on Tuesday, August 5. The 28-year-old, wanted in the “targeted” deaths of four individuals, was taken into custody in Jackson shortly after 9 am Police Chief Thom Corley told reporters, according to NBC News.
Ricardo Contreras has now spoken out after helping lead police to capture Drummond.
Who is Ricardo Contreras?
Contreras is a Tennessee house painter who was painting a house with his crew in Jackson when he spotted a mysterious figure in the woods near the home on Tuesday. He initially believed he had encountered an animal, he told WMC.
Read More | Austin Robert Drummond arrested: How Tennessee quadruple murder suspect was captured after manhunt
Contreras and his workers, however, knew that a manhunt was underway for Drummond. “I saw someone moving in the middle of the woods, and he had like a, you know, a sweater with, you know, something on his head or something like that but it was really hard to see if it was the person that they were looking for but, who else could it be,” Contreras said.
Contreras quickly called the police to report the man in the woods.
{{/usCountry}}Contreras quickly called the police to report the man in the woods.
{{/usCountry}}“That was amazing because when I called 911, I told her, like, I don’t want to make a big thing on this, but I know you have been working hard to get this guy,” he said. “And I’m not sure if it’s him or not, but you need to know that it’s somebody back there.”
Drummond was arrested about 15 minutes after Contreras tipped off the cops. “I was still on the phone when they got there immediately, and the helicopter and everything. They move really quick,” Contreras said.
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Contreras, a father-of-two, is relieved that Drummond is off the streets. “I mean we can sleep, you know, better tonight,” he shared. “Even my kids — like I got two little ones that they just, I mean, the last three or four nights they’ve been asleep with us in the bed because they are scared about this.”
Police had offered a $37,000 reward for information leading to Drummond’s capture. However, Contreras said he did not know about the reward, and called 911 as he was trying to do “the right thing.”
Drummond is accused of the July 29 killings of Matthew Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15. The victims were relatives of an infant who was found abandoned in another northwest Tennessee community the same day of the murders.