Suspect Arrested in Theft of Musician’s Guitars and Guns

A suspect has been arrested in connection to a burglary in Nashville that left an aspiring musician without his guitars and multiple other items in his home. Nashville Metro Police on Friday, Aug. 19, arrested 30-year-old Raymond Worden, Jr. in connection to the crime, which occurred in the Paragon Mills neighborhood in mid-August. He has been charged with felony aggravated burglary, according to local outlet WKRN News 2.

The arrest was made just days after the victim, musician Nick Britt-Cunningham, reported the crime and shared video footage from his Ring camera to police. The footage showed the two suspects, including the accused Worden Jr., breaking into Britt-Cunningham’s home through a backdoor while he was at Jiu Jitsu. The two suspects first knocked on the door to see if anyone was home, and after the homeowner’s dog could be heard barking, they went around to the back of the home, where they made entrance. According to Britt-Cunningham, the suspects “used a saw to try to cut the bolt, and I’m not sure if they just cut enough to make it worth wild or what, but then they took four to five kicks as hard as they possibly could.”

The suspects could later be seen carrying out multiple items, including several guitars, some of which were signed by celebrities, including Anna Nicole Smith. The thieves also made away with amps, his scuba diving log, and several firearms. Britt-Cunningham, who also works as a firearms instructor, said he kept the firearms in a locked storage area inside the home, used for gun training.

“Seven different guitars, they all mean something, but two of them are super important. They’re rare and expensive, and they were actually gifts. One was the first guitars I ever played, I was in 6th grade, first electric guitar,” Britt-Cunningham told News Channel 5 of his stolen guitars. “It’s kind of disheartening. And then another one that was given to me by a gentleman who passed away last year actually on the 21st, on Saturday he’s been gone one year… he did work with BB King, and I can’t get those things back.”

According to an arrest warrant, Worden, Jr. was taken into police custody after a News 2 viewer identified him as one of the suspects after watching the news broadcast about the burglary. Police then went to Worden’s apartment and searched the residence. They recovered one of the guitars, a pedalboard, and a black gun case, which had been taken from Britt-Cunningham’s home. Worden was arrested and booked into the Metro jail Friday morning on a charge of felony burglary. His bond was set at $6,000. The second suspect has not yet been taken into police custody, though News 2 reports detectives said have identified the second suspect.