Tennessee man sought in 4 deaths spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store at age 16

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man wanted in the northwest Tennessee deaths of four people — two of whom had an infant who was found alive in a front yard more than 30 miles away — had spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old and threatening to go after jurors, court records show.

Authorities are now offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has said it obtained warrants for Drummond charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses.

Drummond, who has been added to the TBI’s Most Wanted List, should be considered armed and dangerous, officials said.

Drummond was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee. During the incident, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 inside, court records show.

During a 2020 hearing in which he was denied parole, Drummond said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and doesn’t remember robbing the gas station. He said the gun was a BB gun.

After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the parole hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action.

The Associated Press obtained audio of the parole board hearing through a public records request.

Drummond was given a combined 13-year sentence. His sentence ended in September 2024, according to the parole board meeting and Tennessee Department of Correction records.

As of the 2020 parole hearing, Drummond had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond said the assault and the deadly weapon charges occurred because he was almost beaten to death.

The investigation began after an infant in a car seat was found in a front yard in the Tigrett area on Tuesday afternoon. The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on social media that a caller reported the infant had been dropped off by a minivan or mid-size SUV at a “random individual’s front yard” with a photo of the baby in a paramedic’s arms.

After identifying the infant, the sheriff’s office said later that night that they were working with investigators in neighboring Lake County where four people had been found dead.

On Wednesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the four people found dead in Tiptonville as James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15.

Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infant’s parents and Rose was Adrianna and Braydon Williams’ mother, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman. All four of the victims lived in Dyer County, he said.

Immediately after discovering the infant, investigators started looking for the baby’s family and soon learned the four relatives had not been seen since the night before, Goodman said. Then a relative called 911 after finding two vehicles in a remote area. The four bodies were found in nearby woods, Goodman said.

All four victims had been killed, Goodman said, but he declined to say how.

Authorities did not name the infant, but an obituary for Wilson says he is survived by his daughter, Weslynne Wilson.

An attorney who represented Drummond in his case as a teenager did not immediately return a message requesting a comment.

A telephone listing for Drummond could not be found.

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Reporter Sarah Brumfield contributed from Cockeysville, Maryland.