A 19-year-old Memphis man who was arrested after he allegedly brought a stolen gun to Hamilton High School was arrested again on Monday and remains behind bars after reportedly being charged with aggravated battery and possession of controlled substances.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office records confirm Javarious Sistrunk is back in jail on Monday, where he is held on a $80,000 bond, after Action News 5 reported police accused him of robbing a woman and possessing a controlled substance on Monday night.
The outlet reported Sistrunk (pictured above) is accused of approaching a woman from behind with two other men, then pointing a gun at her and demanding her belongings. The victim reportedly complied with Sistrunk and the other men, allowing her to call the police, who subsequently arrested the men at a Dollar General.
It is Sistrunk’s second time in the Shelby County Jail in less than a week, as NewsChannel 3 revealed on Thursday that police accused him of bringing a weapon to Hamilton High School on September 25.
Police were reportedly called to the school to disperse a fight on the campus, but the outlet said a School Resource Officer (SRO) informed responding Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers was purportedly spotted with a weapon tucked into his waistband.
Authorities later said the weapon was stolen from a vehicle two years ago, and NewsChannel 3 reported Sistrunk appeared before Shelby County Judge S. Ronald Lucchesi “for just three minutes” before the judge assigned a $35,000 bond. It was later reported by Action News 5 that Sistrunk was ultimately released without a bond.
Earlier this year, Governor Bill Lee signed legislation that prevented judges from considering a defendant’s ability to pay when assigning bond, prompting a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in August.
The legislation was first introduced by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who introduced a series of bills to improve public safety, including a similar bill that would have created a new misdemeanor crime for criminal defendants violating the terms of their bail.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) recently renewed her call for Congress to pass the Restoring Law and Order Act she introduced with Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), which would stress “public safety tools like bail and pretrial detention” to keep alleged criminals from committing additional offenses.
Blackburn said in a video, “The fact that these criminals are apprehended, then you have prosecutors and judges that let them out immediately,” calling the practice one of the top drivers of crime in Tennessee.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
