The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the January 12 death of an inmate in the Shelby County Jail.
“At the request of 30th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, we were requested on January 10th to investigate a report that an inmate at the Shelby County Jail, Ramon McGhee (DOB: 02/19/1981) was found unresponsive, and was transported to a local hospital. On Friday, McGhee was declared dead,” TBI Public Information Officer Keli McAlister told The Tennessee Star Wednesday. “Our investigation remains active and ongoing. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of his death. Information regarding the autopsy is not something that would come from our office.”
According to ABC24, McGhee (pictured above) was in jail on a $1,000,000 bond and had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) confirmed the reports but punted further questions to TBI.
“We did have an inmate that passed away at the hospital while in custody of the jail,” SCSO said. “All questions regarding the identity and investigation into the death will have to be directed to the TBI.”
In November, McGhee allegedly shot and killed someone at a gas station in Bartlett.
“Investigators quickly identified the suspect as Ramon McGhee and obtained a search warrant and arrest warrant for his address in Shelby County,” Action News 5 reported. “The Bartlett Police Department’s SWAT Team then executed those warrants and placed the suspect in custody without incident.”
Details about the victim have not been released, and it is unclear when McGhee was set to go to trial.
Memphis has seen a spike in violent crime that has earned the city national headlines.
As reported by The Star, the city had the highest murder rate of all large U.S. cities in 2023.
“Memphis’ murder rate exceeded the murder rate of Chicago, which reported 23.2 murders per 100,000 people, and Philadelphia, which saw 26 murders per 100,000 people,” The Star reported. “The city also fared worse than cities with a similar or lower population, with the murder rate in Memphis also exceeding the murder rates of Baltimore, Detroit, and New Orleans.”
“The findings follow those of the Memphis Crime Commission, which revealed in September that Memphis had already seen a 42.2 percent increase in murders.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
