NASHVILLE MAN FACES 30 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN CONNECTION WITH JUNE 2019 HOMICIDE

NASHVILLE – Justin Pace, 28, of Nashville, pled guilty in federal court today in connection with a June 2019 homicide at the Super 8 Motel in Hermitage, Tennessee, announced United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Pace and several co-defendants were charged by a federal grand jury in August 2021 with conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and causing death through the use of a firearm. Two other defendants have already pleaded guilty in connection with these offenses.

The charges in this case relate to the robbery of Anthony Goodall, a local drug dealer. Goodall arrived at the Super 8 Motel in the early morning hours of June 30, 2019. Pace and Donte Easley, who is now deceased, followed Goodall and robbed him after Goodall got out of an elevator in the breezeway of the motel. During the robbery, Goodall was shot and killed. Pace took Goodall’s backpack, which contained methamphetamine, and fled the scene with Easley. Surveillance footage from the motel permitted investigators to identify the assailants, who were charged in state and federal courts.

Pace pled guilty to all of the charges against him.  The terms of his plea agreement with the United States call for him to be sentenced to a term of 30 years’ imprisonment.

“Today’s guilty plea ensures that this defendant will be removed from society for the next thirty years,” said United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis.  “We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to focus federal resources on the most violent criminals in Middle Tennessee.” 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Ben Schrader and Rachel Stephens are prosecuting the case.

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