Alleged gunman in fatal Nashville Easter shooting was out on bond that should have been denied, DA

The man police allege is responsible for killing one and injuring five in an Easter Sunday shooting in Nashville was a convicted felon out on bond for felony charges in Rutherford County, according to The Tennessee Star newspaper.

County District Attorney Jennings H. Jones said the suspect, 46-year-old Anton Rucker, should not have been released on bond.

Rucker, who was arrested Tuesday in Kentucky by the Metro Nashville Police Department, was out on a combined $50,000 bond, according to court records.

He has been charged with aggravated assault, illegal possession of a weapon, and three felony drug charges in Rutherford County.

The Tennessee Star asked Jones via email why Rucker was allowed bond despite being convicted of multiple felonies.

According to Davidson County court records, Rucker has been found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to sell, deliver, or manufacture, of evidence tampering, of evading arrest, and of intentional aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The Star also asked why the bond amount was set so low.

“Those are very good questions,” said Jones, the district attorney general for the 16th Judicial District, which serves Cannon and Rutherford counties. “I would like to know the answer as well.”

The attorneys responsible for Rucker’s case have since requested his bond be revoked, WSMV4 reported.

Jones told The Star that “it would have been my druthers that he be denied bond or that the bond be set very high.”

He pointed to the judge overseeing Rucker’s cases as the party responsible for setting Rucker’s comparatively low bond, considering his background.

Judge Lisa Eischeid is the Rutherford County general sessions judge responsible for Rucker’s cases involving his aggravated assault and illegal weapon possession charges, according to court records.

Eischeid was elected as a general sessions judge in 2016 and ran unopposed for re-election in 2022. She presides over misdemeanor and felony cases and also presides over the DUI recovery court.

For Rucker’s alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday shooting, he is accused of killing Allen Beachem, 33. The shooting occurred at Roasted, a restaurant in the Nashville neighborhood of Salemtown.