Hannah Forkum, 21, was arrested on drug charges in Nashville on Wednesday and is pending extradition to Kentucky tied to a second-degree murder charge, police said.
Police suspected Forkum of selling drugs to Lebanon woman Baylee McClanahan, 21, out of a Nashville motel room on Stewarts Ferry Pike. McClanahan died 24 hours later of a drug overdose while visiting a friend in Warren County, Kentucky, on Tuesday, a news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department said.
How the arrest unfolded
Detectives from MNPD worked in conjunction with Kentucky authorities to arrange an undercover drug purchase Wednesday in the Motel 6 parking lot on Stewarts Ferry Pike. Forkum emerged from one of the rooms at the time set for the sale and was taken into custody. She was carrying 25 grams of fentanyl, 27 grams of meth laced with fentanyl, and 7 grams of black tar heroin, according to MNPD.
Police also executed a search warrant of Forkum’s motel room, which revealed a .25 caliber pistol; multiple plastic bags used for packaging narcotics; and several sets of digital scales. Three other people in the motel room also had outstanding warrants and were arrested, MNPD said.
Forkum is being held without bond in Davidson County on charges of possessing fentanyl, heroin, and meth for resale; gun possession in the commission of a dangerous felony; and being a fugitive from justice from Kentucky. MNPD is working alongside the Bowling Green Warren County Drug Task Force in the investigation.
Kentucky authorities took out a second-degree murder warrant against Forkum in connection with McClanahan’s death, according to MNPD. Forkum is set to appear in court in Nashville on Friday, records show. It was not immediately clear when she would be extradited to Kentucky.