Murder of Car Owner Leads to Indictment

July 30, 2021 – A 22-year-old man was indicted Thursday on first-degree murder charges stemming from the shooting death in February of a motorist whose car he was trying to steal in the Windyke area of southeast Shelby County, said Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

The grand jury indicted Cedric Richardson on counts of first-degree felony murder, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail.

The incident occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2021, in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Parkline Drive near Winchester and Forest Hill Irene Road.

Witnesses said Terrence E. Taylor, 48, was walking to his car when Richardson approached him with a rifle and demanded the keys to his Dodge Charger automobile. Taylor was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The gunman did not get the car, but escaped in a second vehicle.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office detectives developed Richardson as a suspect and took him into custody the next day.

The case is being handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Jeff Jones of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit 8 which seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders. 

'Miss Iris’ Decides It’s Time

July 29, 2021 — When Iris Stewart joined the District Attorney’s Office in November of 1994, there were 97 employees and the daily dockets for all 10 Criminal Court divisions were placed in one small closet.

Over the past 27-plus years, she has worked in General Sessions, Criminal Court, handled payroll and leave, paid bills, scheduled prosecutor conferences, tallied CLE credits, and coming from the business world, helped the office become more computerized.

The overall staff has more than doubled and that small closet probably wouldn’t hold dockets for even one court division. As Chief Administrative Clerk, she has been in charge of 18 Criminal Court secretaries, double the number needed when she started.

“I have 18 women ages 19 to 68 from diverse backgrounds, I treat them all as individuals, and I feel like I have a special bond with each of them,” says ‘Miss Iris,’ as most of them call her. “There’ve been a lot of aspirins, but it’s been a joy. I always told them, finish up what you’re doing today as if you weren’t going to be here tomorrow. Don’t leave things undone. But I’ve tried to be compassionate to their needs and to the needs of the office.”

Iris has worked for three District Attorneys, including John Pierotti, Bill Gibbons, and, for the past 10 years, me.

Iris will be deeply missed. She is that rare mix of intelligence, humility, compassion and strength. She has an incredible work ethic and demeanor that demands respect. When Iris talks, you should be listening.

Iris plans to enjoy life with her husband Robert (“We’ll just explore each day”) and break away from her work habits, such as rising at 6 a.m. each day.

“Leaving the office is bittersweet,” she says. “I’m sad, but I’m also excited. I’m going to miss the people, but I feel like it’s time. I feel like I’m leaving the way I came in, being in a good place.”

Man Convicted of Rape 23 Years Later

July 29, 2021 – An Alabama man whose DNA linked him to the 1998 rape of a Parkway Village woman was convicted Wednesday by a Criminal Court jury, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Timothy Dewayne Potts, 48, faces 15 to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced next month by Judge Bobby Carter for aggravated rape.

The incident occurred around 4 a.m. on Dec. 8, 1998, when a man broke into the 27-year-old woman’s apartment near Lamar Avenue and Winchester Road. The woman said the man beat her with a pistol and also threatened to shoot her 4-year-old son who walked into the room.

She was taken to the Rape Crisis Center where a sexual assault kit was put together but was not sent for testing until 2017. When a DNA sample from the kit was entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System or CODIS, a positive match identified Potts as the assailant.

Potts, who lived in Memphis from 1997 to 2002, was located in a penal facility in Alabama.

The case was prosecuted by Asst. Dist. Atty. Dru Carpenter of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) and by Asst. Dist. Atty. Regan Murphy of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3.

The SVU handles cases of rape, child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse of children, elder abuse and vulnerable adult abuse. Vertical Team 3 prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 11 and in Criminal Court Division 3.

Man Convicted in Rape of Child

July 27, 2021 – A 64-year-old man was convicted as charged Tuesday of raping the 12-year-old daughter of a friend in a rooming house they shared in South Memphis, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury convicted Willie Lee Hopper on felony counts of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1 by Judge Glenn Wright.

The young victim reported the incident in 2016 after her grandmother had taken her to a hospital for treatment of emotional problems she developed following the incident that occurred a year earlier.

She said Hooper touched her inappropriately and then raped her in a rooming house on Pueblo Avenue where she, her sister and her mother were staying with Hooper. The victim, now 19, said her younger sister was in the house when Hooper assaulted her.

The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Lessie Rainey of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) and by Asst. Dist. Atty. Julie Cardillo of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 2.

SVU prosecutes cases of rape, child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse of child victims, elder abuse, and vulnerable-adult abuse. SVU was created in 2010 as an expansion of the multi-agency Child Protection Investigative Team (CPIT).

Vertical Team 2 prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 9 and in Criminal Court Division 2.

Two Indicted in Hickory Hill Homicide

July 19, 2021 – Two men who intervened with gunfire in a neighborhood argument last year have been indicted on first-degree murder in the death of one of the neighbors, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendants Tywaun Bonds, 30, and Deunte Stone, 21, are being held in the Shelby County Jail.

The incident occurred on March 18, 2020, in the 3700 block of Maple Leaf Cove where homeowner Jamorris Hope and another man were arguing. A black SUV then pulled up and two men stepped out and began shooting at Hope in his driveway.

Hope, 45, was struck several times in the legs, with one bullet severing a femoral artery. He was hospitalized in critical condition and died from his wounds weeks later on May 7.

Stone was arrested about a week after the shooting, while Bonds was arrested later on July 29.

The case is being handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Kevin McAlpin of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit 7 which seeks maximum sentencing from repeat felony offenders.

Drive-By Shooting Suspect Indicted in Homicide

July 16, 2021 – A juvenile defendant has been indicted in a drive-by shooting last summer in which a Hickory Hill man was killed, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Robert A. Cobb, now 18, is being held in the Shelby County Jail.

Witnesses said the incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. on July 15, 2020, in the 3900 block of Timber Trail near Kirby Parkway and East Raines Road in southeast Memphis.

An investigation showed that Cobb was in a passing vehicle from which shots were fired, striking Avery Boyd, 29, multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.  

Cobb was identified as a suspect, and when police arrived at his home five days later, he ran out the back door carrying a pistol and an AR rifle. He was captured without incident.

The case is being handled by Senior Felony Asst. Bryce Phillips and Felony Asst. Ryan Thompson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 5 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 13 and in Criminal Court Division 9.

First Of Defendant Trio Found Guilty of Murder

July 16, 2021 – A 21-year-old man was convicted Friday in a 2018 case in which two cousins were shot, one of them fatally, while trailing suspected car thieves in southeast Memphis, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury found Demerrick Porter guilty, as charged, of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony. He is scheduled to be sentenced August 13 by Judge Paula Skahan.

The incident occurred on March 28, 2018, in the 4500 block of Cognac Cove near Riverdale Road and East Shelby Drive where Christopher Smith, 24, and his 23-year-old cousin had followed another vehicle.

The cousins suspected the three men in the vehicle had possibly stolen a car earlier and had been following them in the area. The suspects’ vehicle suddenly stopped in the cove, and three men came out firing guns.

Smith the driver was struck by multiple gunshots and was pronounced dead at the scene. His cousin was shot in the leg and hobbled away to call for help.

Porter and two companions were identified as the shooters and were arrested in the weeks following the shooting. The two codefendants – Jaelen Bell, 22, and Christian Key, 20 – are awaiting separate trials.

The trial was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Steve Ragland and Jen Morris of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies & Narcotics Prosecution Unit which handles cases involving gang members and violent crimes, including homicides, aggravated robberies, kidnappings, rapes, and narcotics trafficking.

Driver Who Killed Police Lt. Pleads Guilty

July 16, 2021 – An intoxicated, speeding motorist who struck and killed Memphis Police Lt. Myron Fair two years ago pled guilty Friday to aggravated vehicular homicide and 13 other criminal counts, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Marquell Griffin, 52, was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but instead pled guilty as charged to all counts before Criminal Court Judge John Campbell.

By pleading “open” to the court, his sentence will be determined by the judge in a hearing on Aug. 16. Griffin remains in the Shelby County Jail.

The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. on March 21, 2019, as Fair waited at a stoplight in a northbound lane of Austin Peay Highway at Yale Road. He had just gotten off work when Griffin’s SUV struck his vehicle from behind, causing it to flip and roll over several lanes of traffic.

Witnesses told police that Griffin got out of his vehicle and walked to a nearby service station where he was identified, detained and taken back to the scene.

Investigators said tests showed the SUV was traveling at 117 mph five seconds before the crash, and at 94 mph at impact. Griffin, who has two prior DUI convictions, had a .166 BAC. Several plastic baggies containing marijuana were found in his vehicle.

On Friday Griffin pled guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, three counts of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving death, and two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver, all felony offenses.

Aggravated vehicular homicide is a class A felony which carries from 15 to 25 years in prison. With two prior DUI convictions, Griffin would have to serve at least 60 percent of his sentence before being considered for parole.

He also pled guilty to five counts of driving under the influence of intoxicants or drugs, and one count of reckless driving, all misdemeanors.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Glen Baity and by Asst. Dist. Atty. Kenya Smith of the District Attorney’s DUI Unit which works with local law enforcement to reduce the number of DUI-related fatalities and injuries in Shelby County.

Guilty Verdict Returned in Workplace Shooting

July 15, 2021 – A bakery employee has been convicted of attempting to kill his supervisor in a workplace shooting in 2019 in a Whitehaven distribution center off of Brooks Road, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury deliberated 30 minutes and convicted Marcus Davis, 40, as charged, of attempted first-degree murder and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 19 by Judge Bobby Carter.

According to testimony, on the afternoon of Oct. 18, 2019, Davis got into an argument with his team leader at Bimbo Bakeries on Fleetbrook. The argument briefly became physical, and Davis then pulled a pistol from his waistband and fired several shots. The incident was captured on security video.

The team leader, age 29, was struck in the chest and left arm, and was hospitalized in critical condition. Davis fled, but turned himself in to authorities 12 days later.

The case was handled by Senior Felony Asst. Neil Umsted and Asst. Dist Atty. Brad Reasonover of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 11 and in Criminal Court Division 3.

Driver Indicted in Motorcyclist’s Death

July 14, 2021 – A 53-year-old woman was indicted Tuesday on reckless vehicular homicide felony charges related to a 2019 crash in which a motorcyclist was killed, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Tia Christian is free on $15,000 bond.

Investigators said Christian was driving her car at a high rate of speed when she struck the back end of the motorcycle ridden by 31-year-old Curtis Thomas-Watkins. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash occurred around 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2019, on westbound I-55 at the southbound exit for Third Street.

The case is being handled by Senior Felony Asst. Neil Umsted and Asst. Dist. Atty. Regan Murphy of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3 that handles cases in General Sessions Division 11 and in Criminal Court Division 3.

Houseguest Indicted in Berclair Murder

July 14, 2021 – A 26-year-old man has been indicted on first-degree murder and other felony counts related to the death of an elderly man whose decomposed body was found last summer in his Berclair-area home, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A grand jury indicted Adalberto Jaimez Jr. on counts of theft of property over $10,000 and identity theft, as well as the murder count. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail.

On the afternoon of July 8, 2020, victim Thomas Harris, 79, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the bedroom of his home in the 1000 block of Mendenhall Cove in northeast Memphis.

Investigators said Jaimez had been staying with Harris for several weeks, but that neither he nor Harris had been seen for some 12 days, and that Harris’s car was missing.

Surveillance video showed that on June 28, 2020, a man resembling Jaimez pull into a service station on Summer Avenue in Harris’s vehicle and attempt to purchase gasoline with Harris’s credit card. The car was found abandoned on July 6, 2020, in an apartment complex on 770 Bartlett Road. Jaimez was arrested in Florida and was returned to Memphis several weeks later.

The case is being handled by Felony Asst. Stacy McEndree of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 6 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 15 and in Criminal Court Division 10.

Cold-Case Rape Defendant Pleads Guilty

July 13, 2021 – A suspected serial rapist who was set to be tried Monday on a 2008 rape case involving a 12-year-old girl pled guilty to that case and to seven other pending cases, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Quantez Person, 46, pled guilty in Criminal Court to five felony counts of aggravated rape and three felony counts of rape. He was sentenced to terms of 15 years in prison for each aggravated rape and eight years for each rape.

The sentences will be served concurrently for an effective term of 15 years. There will be no possibility for parole and Person will be placed on the Violent Sex Offender Registry for life.

In three previous trials, Person was acquitted twice and a third ended in a hung jury.

He was set to be tried Monday in the rape of a young girl who he picked up on May 1, 2008, on Jackson in North Memphis by pretending to be a friend of her mother. He made the girl drink vodka as he drove to a cemetery off of Elvis Presley Boulevard in South Memphis where he raped her in the front seat.

A rape kit was completed but was not tested until years later. In 2018, DNA testing linked Person to that rape and to nearly a dozen others that occurred between 2000 and 2011.

The young victim in the case that was set for trial this week approved of Monday’s settlement. She is now 25 and had been preparing to testify.  

The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Abby Wallace and Gavin Smith as members of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit which handles cases of rape, child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse of children, elder abuse and abuse of vulnerable adults.

Wallace is now assigned to the Special Prosecution Unit 8 which seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.     

Two Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Motorcyclist

July 6, 2021 – Two Memphis men have been indicted on first-degree murder and other felony counts related to the fatal shooting of a motorcyclist and the wounding of his passenger last December in the Fox Meadows area of southeast Memphis, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A grand jury indicted Jesus Cintron-Rodriguez, 27, and Cortez Parker, 28, on additional counts of attempted first-degree murder and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony. Parker also was indicted on facilitation to commit first-degree murder for allegedly supplying the weapon. Cintron-Rodriguez is being held on $1 million bond. Parker is free on $10,000 bond.

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2020, at 7535 Winchester Road near Bill Morris Parkway (Tenn. Hwy. 385) after the defendants waited in a dark-colored sedan in a parking lot for the victims who were shopping in Walmart.

Video surveillance showed the sedan with Cintron-Rodriguez and passenger Parker follow the victims – Rolando Machado, 23, and his girlfriend – as they left the parking lot on the motorcycle. Investigators said Cintron-Rodriguez then rolled down the driver’s window and fired several shots, striking Machado multiple times.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. His girlfriend, 28, was shot in the right knee and sustained a grazing wound in the buttocks. The suspects, who fled eastbound on Winchester, were identified, charged and arrested two days later.

The case is being handled by Senior Felony Asst. Neil Umsted and Asst. Dist. Atty. Forrest Edwards of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 11 and in Criminal Court Division 3.  

Motorist Indicted in Co-Worker’s Shooting Death

July 2, 2021 – A 27-year-old man has been indicted in the death of a co-worker last year who was found in his bullet-riddled car in the Hickory Hill area of southeast Memphis, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Courtney Malone was indicted on one count of first-degree murder. He is being held on $250,000 bond.

On Nov. 13, 2020, police were called to an accident scene on Kirby Parkway at Valley Park Drive where they found Antonian Smith, 44, inside his vehicle, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. There also were numerous bullet holes in the right side of his vehicle.

Investigators said the two men were co-workers at Trane where Malone and Smith had an argument before leaving work that night. They said Smith previously had complained that Malone had harassed him at work on several occasions.

According to an affidavit, surveillance cameras showed Malone leaving work 30 minutes early and following closely behind Smith. A witness said Smith called a short time later and said “the guy who works with me who drives a lime green Dodge Charger just shot up my truck.” The call then disconnected.

Parts of the incident were recorded by Real Time Crime Center cameras as the two vehicles travelled north on Kirby Parkway from East Raines Road. Muzzle flashes are seen coming from the driver’s side window of the Dodge as it travelled on the right side of Smith’s white SUV.

Malone was taken into custody and charged three days later.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Stephanie Johnson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 2 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 9 and in Criminal Court Division 2.

Woman Indicted in Stabbing of Elderly Mother

July 2, 2021 – A southwest Memphis woman has been indicted in the stabbing death last year of her elderly disabled mother, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Crystal Branch, 53, was an indicted on one count of first-degree murder. She is being held on $250,000 bond.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of Oct. 14, 2020, in a residence in the 4600 block of Cimarron Drive near Weaver Road and West Shelby Drive. A relative said she heard 73-year-old Callie Branch screaming for help and saw the defendant on top of the victim stabbing her repeatedly.

The victim, who was partially paralyzed from a stroke, had multiple stab wounds to her hand, torso, neck and ears. She was taken to Regional One Health where died of her injuries three days later.

Crystal Branch told police she stabbed her mother because she was going to call police and tell them the defendant would not take her medicine.  

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Stephanie Johnson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 2 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 9 and in Criminal Court Division 2.

Interstate Motorist Indicted on DUI, Vehicular Homicide Counts

July 2, 2021 – A Memphis driver has been indicted on multiple felony counts related to an interstate crash last year in which a 69-year-old woman in another vehicle was killed, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.     

The grand jury indicted defendant Arendale Robinson, 36, on counts of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of an intoxicant, and reckless driving. He is free on $15,000 bond.

The crash occurred around 8 p.m. on April 18, 2020, as Robinson was driving south on Interstate 55 near Shelby Drive. Witnesses said Robinson’s vehicle passed them and changed lanes several times while travelling at a high rate of speed.

He then swerved to the right and struck the rear of a vehicle that was stopped on the shoulder of the highway, killing Odester Wright of Memphis on impact. Robinson, who officers said had a strong odor of alcohol, was hospitalized with serious injuries.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Glen Baity of the District Attorney’s DUI Unit which works with local law enforcement to reduce the number of DUI-related fatalities and injuries in Shelby County.

The DUI Unit also conducts training sessions for law enforcement officers to keep them updated on new laws and changes in existing laws.         

Woman Indicted in Boyfriend’s Fatal Stabbing

July 1, 2021 – A Westwood-area woman has been indicted on a second-degree murder count stemming from the stabbing death of her 63-year-old boyfriend last year, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Tarlease Mitchell is being held on $125,000 bond.

On Nov. 10, 2020, police were called to a residence on Haas Avenue in southwest Memphis where they found Cornelius Goodlow face down on the living room floor with knife wounds to his chest and shoulder.

He was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later.

A witness said the victim had been with his girlfriend, Mitchell, all day. She was arrested four days later and said the stabbing occurred during an argument.

The case is being handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Jeff Jones of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit in Criminal Court Division 8. The SPU seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.

English Major Paul Goodman Retires After 34+ Years As Prosecutor

June 26, 2021 – When prosecutor Paul Goodman started in the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, the average price for a car was just over $10,000, gas was 89 cents a gallon, stamps were 24 cents apiece, and eggs were 65 cents a dozen.

Paul started in January of 1987, long before cell phones, email, and electronic case-file management systems like JustWare became essential work tools. He had no experience in criminal law.

“I was working as a staff attorney in Johnson City in East Tennessee where I had a case on Monday, then drove all night to my new job in Shelby County and went to work Tuesday morning,” he recalls. “I remember this building (The Criminal Justice Center) was fairly new. The job was interesting, but it was a lot of work.”

Now, 34½ years later, Paul is retiring from the office where for the past 18 months he has worked as the first chief of the Case Review Unit. He plans to do some traveling – to New York to visit his son and to New Orleans “where I make new friends every time I go there” – and do part-time work of some kind.

Paul’s last day will be Wednesday.

He is a native Memphian whose interest in law was encouraged by a friend, classmate and eventual fellow prosecutor James Wax.

“I started thinking more about law when I saw other English majors, even some with PhDs, driving cabs,” Paul says with a laugh. “I found the study of law to be interesting, even after that first awful year of law school.”

As an undergraduate and law school graduate of what was then Memphis State University, he worked in the Memphis City Attorney’s Office for several years. With a wife and two children, he says, Johnson City seemed like a nice change of scenery for a young family.

Not long after the move, however, his wife was offered an attractive job back in Memphis so Paul again took advice from friend Wax and applied to be a prosecutor. He was hired by Hugh Stanton Jr., the first of four District Attorneys General he would work for. (The others include John Pierotti, Bill Gibbons and current boss Amy Weirich.)

“Paul is one of the smartest lawyers I know,” says Gen. Weirich. “He has been a leader in this office for as long as I can remember. I will miss his insight, guidance, humor—and New Orleans restaurant tips. “

Paul says technology represents the biggest change since he started, while “the unpredictability of jurors” has stubbornly remained the same.

“There are times when you feel that you’ve contributed to a really good result in the courtroom,’ he says. “The times when the case comes together and a jury of strangers looks at the same proof and agrees with your view of the case can be very satisfying.”

A few years after starting in the DA’s Office, Paul was handling a case as a special prosecutor in Gibson County where he needed to file a petition. Colleague Mike Hughes gave him the keys to an office car, a maroon Dodge in the parking garage.

The key unlocked and started the car, although a little stubbornly, but when Paul returned the car that afternoon he told Hughes he could not find the county gas card that should have been in the car.

“As it turned out, the car I drove was a different maroon Dodge that actually belonged to a woman in the clerk’s office,” Paul said. “Somehow the key to the county car also worked in her car. When I realized what had happened and who owned the car, I later offered to pay her for the gas but she declined. Fortunately, I got back that afternoon before 4:30 and before she would have reported it stolen.”

Felon Convicted in Shooting Death

June 26, 2021 – A jury Friday convicted a 40-year-old man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of another man in a 2017 robbery that left the defendant with a gunshot wound of his own, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

The Criminal Court jury also convicted the defendant, Charles Person-Gibson, on counts of attempted especially aggravated robbery and convicted felon in possession of a handgun. He was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Chris Craft for the murder conviction. Sentencing for the other counts will be on July 30.

The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on July 12, 2017, as two men stood in a driveway near the McLemore Express at 1252 McLemore in South Memphis.

Surveillance video showed the defendant running up to two men while pointing a handgun at them. Person-Gibson is seen shooting one of the men – Adrian Ivory, 24 - and then going through his pockets as the victim lay dying. The second man, however, pulled his own gun and shot the defendant in the abdomen.  

Ivory was taken to a hospital where he died. Person-Gibson was critically wounded but survived.

The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Abby Wallace and Jamie Kidd of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit (SPU) which handles cases in Criminal Court Division 8. The SPU seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.

Man Convicted in Robbery, Slaying

June 25, 2021 – A 29-year-old man was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and other felonies related to a 2013 home invasion in which an acquaintance was killed, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Ryan Winston was convicted of first-degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. He faces a sentence of no less than life in prison when he is sentenced next month by Criminal Court Judge W. Mark Ward.

Winston was convicted in the Dec. 26, 2013, shooting death of Tyler Gurien, 26, whose body was found in the basement of his home in the 4800 block of East Shore Drive in southwest Memphis near Robco Lake.

Investigators said drugs, cash and a gun were taken in the home invasion. Two other men charged in the case are awaiting trial. 

The case was prosecuted by Asst. Dist. Attys. Leslie Byrd and Austin Scofield.

The case was delayed in going to trial as the defendant changed defense attorneys several times, and because of COVID-19 last year.