The tale begins with the startling account of a man who managed to infiltrate a jail under construction in Nashville, setting off a chain of events that would captivate the city. Disguised as a painter, the man sported a yellow hard hat, a fluorescent yellow vest, purple gloves, and a gray long-sleeve T-shirt concealing a distinctive upper-arm tattoo. Carrying a black cooler with a red handle, he also donned a white painter’s mask covering his nose and mouth, an unusual sight before the era of face coverings.
As details of the man’s audacious actions unfolded, it became clear that his story was stranger than fiction. Armed with bolt cutters hidden among his paint supplies in a gallon bucket, the man, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, approached Nashville’s new $200 million Downtown Detention Center on January 4, 2020, just days before its scheduled opening. Despite legitimate workers busily preparing for the grand unveiling, the masked intruder’s presence signaled impending chaos.
For Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, overseeing the construction and subsequent security breach at the new jail became a race against time to apprehend the mysterious figure. Described as an “evil genius,” the intruder’s elaborate scheme extended beyond the mere act of trespassing; an arsenal of weapons discovered at another location, including pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and even a 37mm rocket launcher, hinted at a much larger threat.
The masked man’s initial covert visit to the under-construction jail shortly after Christmas in 2019 had already raised alarms, with surveillance footage capturing his stealthy movements through restricted areas, notably the control center housing crucial keys. With two keys missing and concerns mounting, a select group of officers were discreetly briefed about the elusive intruder, their instructions clear: do not let him inside.
As the man confidently strode into the facility on that fateful day, staff supervisor Cory Witkus recognized him from previous encounters, his heart racing at the looming confrontation. Armed only with his instincts, Witkus found himself face to face with the intruder, unsure of the unfolding danger but resolved to uphold the plan: do not let him in.
Get him out of the jail without his knowledge by guiding him to the loading dock area to prevent a violent showdown before the opening. Another challenge faced by Witkus was the uncertainty about the individual they were dealing with. They were unaware of the intricate plan he might have been devising since 2015, the same year the new jail plans were announced. Moreover, they had no clue that they were confronting a man who had garnered a nickname in prison due to his intelligence – “Einstein.” The “Chasing Einstein” series is the result of extensive research and interviews with various individuals connected to the subject, including friends, investigators, a defense attorney, and the sheriff. Despite corresponding with the subject via letters, he declined to provide an on-the-record comment. Daron Hall, upon hearing about an intruder in the Downtown Detention Center, was taken aback and returned to Nashville to handle the situation. The revelation of Einstein’s true identity and the events unfolding inside the jail left Hall utterly bewildered. Raised in Nashville with a keen interest in criminal justice, Hall narrowly escaped trouble in his youth when he almost landed in jail at 14 due to his fascination with a police scanner.
In the middle of the night, at 2:30 a.m., he left his house quietly and without hesitation. Stepping into his mother’s 1965 Mustang convertible, a vehicle he had never driven before, he mimicked his mother’s movements to start the car. His plan was to assist the police in catching a burglar, so he drove cautiously with the lights off and tapping the brakes every two seconds to remain undetected. Parking near the burglary site, he listened intently to his radio scanner, hoping to play a role in apprehending the criminal. However, little did he know that the police had already identified him as a suspect, as they had spotted him at the scene and checked his license plate. Realizing his mistake, he found himself surrounded by law enforcement officers, aware that he was in serious trouble. Despite his good intentions, he was now considered a suspect in the situation. After a thorough explanation of his actions to the officers, he was finally driven back home in the Mustang. Reflecting on the incident now, he chuckles at the absurdity of the situation.
Apart from his adventurous nighttime escapades, the protagonist, Hall, was known for his prowess as a football player at Antioch High School. Not particularly interested in traditional academics, he found solace in reading “Helter Skelter,” a true crime story detailing the Manson family’s heinous acts. This book sparked his curiosity about the criminal mind and the motivations behind such extreme behavior. Hall’s academic interests shifted towards criminal justice during his college years at Western Kentucky, where he delved into courses on the subject.
Hall’s life took another unexpected turn during a temporary job, where he found himself transporting cadavers from one medical facility to another. Unnerved by the eerie task, he struggled to come to terms with the macabre nature of his work. Despite his discomfort, he managed to complete the delivery without any major mishaps, albeit with a newfound unease lingering in his mind.
In another peculiar incident, Hall found himself in a shootout at a place called The Coin Purse in 1987. At the age of 18, fresh out of Tennessee Preparatory School, he faced a situation that tested his mettle in ways he had never imagined.
Opened in 1885, the establishment catered to children who had faced abuse, neglect, or come from underprivileged backgrounds. Raised by his grandmother as his parents were abroad, a young man found himself grappling with financial woes despite inheriting a significant sum upon graduating high school, as revealed by a former flame of Albert Einstein speaking to The Tennessean, a part of the USA TODAY Network. The man, identified as Einstein, reportedly invested all his inheritance in a frozen yogurt franchise, only to lose everything in the venture. Desperate for money, he resorted to criminal activities, attempting to rob a collectible coin store on November 2, 1987. Disguised with a wig and fake mustache, Einstein engaged in a shootout with the store owner, missing all his shots and getting wounded in the left hand. Arrested and jailed briefly due to it being his first offense and no severe injuries, he was released on probation later that year.
Meanwhile, another individual, Hall, began his career in the Davidson County correctional system in 1988, swiftly ascending the ranks to eventually become the director of counseling, an assistant administrator in the Sheriff’s office, jail program director, and chief deputy sheriff. At the age of 38, in 2002, Hall successfully ran for the office of Davidson County Sheriff, marking a historic win as the youngest sheriff in the county. Overseeing all three detention centers in Davidson County, Hall’s rapid rise in the incarceration administration contrasted with Einstein’s return to jail for a prolonged period due to a probation violation involving a firearm. During his incarceration in Clifton, Tennessee, in the 1990s, Einstein began to delve into the intricacies of the prison system, setting his eyes on the inner workings of the penal institutions.
As the narrative unfolds, the juxtaposition between Hall’s burgeoning career in law enforcement and Einstein’s criminal exploits weaves a compelling tale, shedding light on the divergent paths these individuals traversed within the realms of justice and incarceration.
