Goodlettsville police are hunting four masked men who robbed the Sunshine Market on Rivergate Parkway early Tuesday, October 28, 2025, fleeing in a stolen sedan they later set ablaze nearby.

Goodlettsville’s quiet streets stirred awake before sunrise on October 28, 2025, as the Sunshine Market on Rivergate Parkway flipped on its lights for the day. At precisely 5:12 a.m., four masked and gloved men pushed through the door, their faces concealed by dark coverings and hands gripping handguns. Inside, a clerk and an early customer faced a tense standoff: the suspects ordered them to the floor, rifled through the register, and made off with $8,000 in cash along with a substantial haul of lottery tickets. The ordeal lasted mere minutes, but left the victims shaken and the store’s alarm system yanked from the wall in a bid to delay any response.

Surveillance footage captured the intrusion in stark detail: the men, clad in dark clothing, moved with apparent coordination, one keeping watch at the door while others emptied drawers and grabbed scratch-off rolls from behind the counter. The clerk, a longtime employee who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, described the fear that gripped the small space. “They were in and out so fast, but it felt like forever,” he said, adding that the customer, a regular grabbing coffee before work, complied without resistance. No one was physically harmed, but the emotional toll lingered as officers arrived shortly after the 911 call.

The suspects didn’t linger. They piled into a white 2019 Hyundai Sonata, Tennessee plates BSN3672, and sped off southbound on Rivergate Parkway. The vehicle, reported stolen the previous day from The Retreat Apartments in Goodlettsville, carried them less than a mile before they ditched it on Hollywood Street. There, in a brazen move to erase evidence, they doused the sedan with an accelerant and set it ablaze around 5:30 a.m. Firefighters from the Goodlettsville Fire Department extinguished the flames quickly, but the car was left charred and gutted, its interior reduced to twisted metal and melted upholstery. Investigators recovered partial prints and fibers, but the fire complicated forensics, turning what could have been a quick trace into a meticulous sift through ashes.

Goodlettsville Police Detective Andrew Herendeen, leading the probe, urged the public for tips, noting the getaway’s proximity suggested the suspects might have scattered on foot or into waiting vehicles. “This was planned, but they got sloppy with the car,” Herendeen told local media, releasing stills from the market’s cameras showing the men’s builds: three average height, one taller, all in hoodies and jeans. The department’s Crime Stoppers line lit up with calls, but no arrests followed by evening. Rewards for information leading to convictions were posted at $1,000, with anonymous submissions encouraged via the city’s app or direct line to Herendeen at 615-851-2210.

The robbery fits a pattern in Middle Tennessee, where convenience stores have become prime targets for quick cash grabs and high-value scratch-offs. Lottery tickets, redeemable at any licensed retailer for up to $600 or at lottery headquarters for larger prizes, often fetch premium prices on the black market—sometimes 50 cents on the dollar from fences who launder them through proxies. In 2024 alone, the Tennessee Lottery reported over $2 million in stolen tickets statewide, with Nashville metro seeing a 15 percent uptick in such heists. Experts attribute the trend to economic pressures and the ease of resale, with rings operating from motels in nearby Madison or Old Hickory.

Sunshine Market’s owner, Raj Patel, a fixture in Goodlettsville for 15 years, expressed frustration but resolve. “We’ve been here through floods and freezes—this won’t break us,” Patel said from the storefront, where yellow police tape fluttered until mid-morning. The store reopened by noon, offering free coffee to rattled patrons and posting a “We Will Not Be Intimidated” sign in the window. Community response poured in: neighbors dropped off baked goods, and a local VFW chapter pledged extra patrols during overnight shifts. Patel, who employs five locals including the clerk’s family, emphasized safety upgrades: new reinforced doors, panic buttons linked to dispatch, and LED floodlights to deter shadows.

Residents near Hollywood Street, a residential pocket of modest ranch homes and oak-lined lots, reported smelling smoke around 5:30 a.m. Keith Bishop, a 17-year Goodlettsville native, peered from his window to see flames licking the sedan’s frame. “I’ve lived here my whole life—never seen anything like that,” Bishop recounted, voicing concerns about foot traffic in the aftermath. “To think they’re probably running through the neighborhood is pretty alarming. So yeah, I really hope they catch them.” Volusia County neighbors formed informal watch groups, sharing Ring camera feeds on a private Facebook page that grew to 200 members overnight.

Law enforcement’s multi-agency approach kicked in swiftly. The Goodlettsville PD looped in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s regional task force, which tracks interstate ticket fraud, and Metro Nashville’s robbery unit for pattern analysis. Similar hits in nearby Hendersonville and Gallatin—three in the past month, all involving masked groups and stolen rides—hinted at a coordinated crew. TBI spokesperson Kelli Perkins noted in a briefing that “intelligence sharing has led to 12 arrests in similar cases this year,” urging vigilance for white sedans or bulk ticket redemptions at gas stations.

Broader context reveals a national upswing in early-morning store robberies, per FBI data: 1,200 incidents in 2024, a 20 percent rise from 2023, often tied to fentanyl-fueled desperation or organized resale ops. Tennessee’s lottery, generating $3.5 billion annually for education, has bolstered security with serialized tickets and AI-monitored dispensers, but clerks remain the frontline. The Sunshine clerk, a father of two, underwent counseling through the Retailers Association of America, which covers trauma support for such events.

As night fell on October 28, Hollywood Street’s scorched outline stood as a stark reminder. Fire marshals ruled the blaze intentional, with traces of gasoline residue confirming arson. Neighbors like Bishop installed motion lights, while Patel’s team swept glass shards under sodium-vapor glow. Goodlettsville, a suburb of 20,000 blending strip malls and horse farms, prides itself on small-town safety—crime rates 15 percent below state averages—but this intrusion tested that fabric.

By October 30, tips trickled in: a sighting of three men cashing tickets at a Murfreesboro Kmart, dismissed as unrelated; a partial plate match on a rental in Lebanon. Herendeen remained optimistic: “Someone knows something—these guys aren’t ghosts.” The Tennessee Lottery Commission issued a bulletin to 5,000 retailers: hold suspicious redemptions for verification.

In the Sunshine Market’s back room, Patel tallied losses—$8,000 irreplaceable, tickets recoverable if unclaimed—but counted gains: a community rally that raised $2,500 for victim aid. “We’re tougher than they think,” he said, flipping the “Open” sign at dawn on October 29. As Rivergate Parkway hummed with commuters, the search pressed on, a reminder that even in quiet corners, vigilance turns strangers into sentinels.