The U.S. Marshals Service in Memphis is now offering a reward for information leading to the arrests of suspects involved in a deadly mass shooting at a Memphis park last weekend.
“The U.S. Marshals Service is currently offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the individuals responsible for the deadly shooting in Orange Mound,” the law enforcement entity said in a press release.
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Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. is pleading with parents to provide their children with guidance and involvement as the Youth Justice and Education Center nears capacity.
The Youth Justice and Education Center is a 146-bed, single-occupancy secure detention center designed for youth “identified to be a danger to themselves, a danger to the community, or a flight risk.”
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Memphis interim Police Chief C.J. Davis urged unity and offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to arrests of those behind the Saturday shootings at an illegal block party that resulted in two deaths and at least six injured in a Sunday statement.
Davis described the events at the illegal block party as “senseless acts of violence,” then asked Memphis citizens for help finding the culprits.
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America is a nation of law and order. Yet, more and more, we are seeing U.S. cities overrun with lawless behavior — especially by Hamas sympathizers.
Just last week, anti-Israel demonstrators blocked access to highways, bridges, and airports in cities across the country, stranding hundreds of Americans in rush-hour traffic.
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A shooting that unfolded at Orange Mound Park in Memphis Saturday evening has left two dead and six others wounded, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
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Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced his office is pursuing new charges against the 17-year old involved in last week’s shootout that killed Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney.
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Memphis Mayor Paul Young confirmed he will ask for a property tax hike, explaining the money is needed to cover a budget shortfall and fund the city’s fight against crime.
Young announced his plans during a Tuesday event at Mount Vernon Church in Westwood that marked his first 100 days in office, revealing the city needs “at least $30 million” to fulfill obligations previously funded by expiring federal funding. The Commercial Appeal also reported Young also “vowed” a 10 percent “reduction in violent crime” each year he is in office.
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The man accused of kidnapping and murdering Eliza Fletcher in a high profile 2022 case was convicted late last week for raping another woman a year before Fletcher’s murder, according to several reports.
Cleotha Abston was reportedly convicted in Memphis of three counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a weapon.
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A bill that would allow qualified employees to concealed carry firearms in a school is scheduled to be discussed by the Tennessee House on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1325 includes a list of requirements before an employee – which includes teachers, administrators and other staff – is approved for concealed carry.
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The man police say was responsible for the Friday shooting that claimed the life of a Memphis police officer and left two more wounded was previously arrested in March on theft and gun charges.
Memphis Police Department (MPD) arrest and bail records obtained by The Tennessee Star reveal that 18-year-old Jaylen Lobley, who died in the Friday shooting with police, was previously arrested on March 5 after police responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill prohibiting local governments from limiting the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct routine traffic stops on Thursday.
The bill, SB 2572/HB 1931, was sponsored by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis).
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As crime continues to plague the cities of Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee’s U.S. Attorneys have deemphasized prosecuting those who violate our criminal laws. In the first year of office for President Biden’s U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, criminal case filings declined by over 25 percent compared to the previous year.
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Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development has handed out more than $8.8 million in incentives since it last posted FastTrack incentives for February.
Those include $3.4 million to Schneider Electric in Mount Juliet and Smyrna, $2.5 million to Shoals Technologies Group in Portland, $1.6 million to Nokian Tyres in Dayton and $1.3 million to an unnamed project.
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The Tennessee State Senate on Monday passed two bills sponsored by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) that focused on his continued efforts to fight crime in Memphis.
SB 2659, called the Juvenile Organized Retail Theft Act (JORTA), according to the General Assembly’s website, is a bill that “allows a juvenile court to transfer a child 15 years of age or older to be tried as an adult in criminal court for the offense of organized retail crime, theft of a firearm, or an attempt to commit such offense.”
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A bill that would prohibit local governments from limiting the ability of a law enforcement agency to conduct routine traffic stops passed the Tennessee Senate on Thursday.
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Bloomberg Philanthropies announced on Tuesday that three Tennessee cities will take part in an initiative that would use federal funds provided by the Biden administration.
Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga were selected for the organization’s American Sustainable Cities Initiative, which stated its focus would be on creating economic equity and green energy jobs, according to a Tuesday news release from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Mike Bloomberg, the former Democratic New York Mayor, founded Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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A towing company that sued the City of Memphis last year over racism allegations is now a defendant in a lawsuit which asserts it is engaged in a racketeering scheme to squeeze owners 18-wheelers with excessive, duplicative and illegal fees for parking. The plaintiffs also claim the company engages in illegal towing, booting or impounding of vehicles.
The lawsuit claims the owner of A1’s Towing and Hauling of Memphis, Colton Ahmad Cathey, is the co-creator of an illegal network of towing and booting companies that lure unsuspecting drivers to their lots then charge excessive fees to remediate illegal booting and towing of their vehicles.
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A Memphis judge on Friday postponed the state court trial of four former Memphis police officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols until a federal trial against them concludes, the Associated Press reported.
The delay comes after the former officers’ attorneys requested the judge postpone the state trial so as not to “hinder the officers’ rights to defend themselves in both cases,” the outlet continued. The federal trial is set for September 9, 2024.
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Conservative commentator Steven Crowder released an Officer Safety Bulletin issued by the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security in response to a bomb threat targeting supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The document was issued in response to a Guardian Incident Report received by the Memphis Office of the FBI on February 29, regarding a threat made by a man named Benjamin Matthew Dayton via text message to his mother.
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A left wing group posted the personal business information of Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) to social media on Sunday, prompting the lawmaker to reply that he does not “intimidate easily.”
In a Sunday post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the account Decarcerate Memphis posted a real estate listing for Taylor’s Memphis home, and gave information about the lawmaker’s private sector job as the owner of a funeral home.
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Memphis Mayor Paul Young revealed on Wednesday that met with a number of gang leaders with the goal of brokering a ceasefire between them to lower crime in the city in early February.
The meeting occurred months after Young promised to unveil a sophisticated crime plan within 100 days after taking office that would address the surge in criminality the Tennessee city experienced last year.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) said he has received a response from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis in regards to his request for inmate Stewart Parks, who is serving his eight month sentence for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to be moved to the prison’s minimum security satellite camp.
On February 13, Ogles sent a letter to Warden F.J. Bowers of the FCI in Memphis requesting that Parks be moved to the satellite camp for the duration of his incarceration, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
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Nashville and Memphis were both graded a “C” in Truth in Accounting’s annual Financial State of the Cities report.
Memphis ranked 44th and Nashville ranked 48th out of the top 75 U.S. cities in the report from the think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
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The number of gun thefts from vehicles in Nashville for the first six weeks of the year decreased 43% from 2023, according to a press release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
So far, 90 guns have been stolen from Nashville cars compared to last year’s 158. Gun thefts from cars comprise 72% of all gun thefts in Nashville so far for 2024.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) announced he is sponsoring several crime-related bills this legislative session in an effort to fight crime and “Make Memphis Matter.”
In a letter to his colleagues in the Tennessee State Senate, Taylor detailed 13 pieces of legislation he is sponsoring and asked his colleagues to consider sponsoring the bills as well.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said Memphis will become the “butt of every joke” and the “example of a failed city” if its bail system and crime crisis are not addressed.
Noting how Detroit was once an example of a “failed city” and a “shell of its former self,” Taylor explained what steps the city has taken to reduce crime and how Memphis should follow its lead.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said the 20-year old suspect charged in a recent violent crime spree in Memphis had charges dismissed by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy two days before allegedly committing the multiple acts of violence.
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The Memphis Police Department (MPD) released the identity of a man allegedly responsible for a violent crime spree that left one dead and multiple injured.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) recently filed legislation to make blocking a highway a Class D felony.
Under current law, it is classified as a Class A misdemeanor when a defendant “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” obstructs a public highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, or hallway.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a letter he sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) regarding its response to a group of pro-Palestine protesters that blocked traffic in both directions on I-40 in Memphis over the weekend.
On Saturday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters commandeered the Mississippi River Bridge on I-40 in Memphis, shutting down traffic in both directions for nearly two hours and leaving motorists with no way to cross the Mississippi River as the I-55 river bridge was under construction.
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A video from last weekend shows pro-Palestinian protestors marching down the I-40 highway in Memphis, blocking traffic.
“Demonstrators for a Pro-Palestinian protest that began at City Hall are marching across the Memphis-Arkansas I-40 bridge, causing lanes to completely close,” according to WREG, who posted the video to their YouTube channel.
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The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (TBJC) has sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recommending Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd be removed from office.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) will hold a joint event with Memphis Mayor Paul Young at Memphis City Hall.
In a Thursday media release from Sexton’s office, the leaders revealed they plan to “make a major announcement alongside Mayor Young, law enforcement officials and community leaders” on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
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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.”
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During a bond hearing, new details emerged in the case of the man who is behind bars for attempting to gain entry to a Jewish school in Memphis and then firing shots outside that school.
Joel Bowman discharged a firearm outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South (MHA-FYOS) on July 31. At the time, security video showed him attempting to enter the locked school, before retreating.
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Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a Tuesday press conference that he is officially pushing Memphis to build its own crime lab, citing the sheer amount of crime happening in the city. His call follows analysis that showed Memphis with the highest homicide rate in the United States in 2023.
Mulroy said a crime lab in Memphis would allow authorities to solve crimes “at a higher rate,” and noted a number of new investigative resources it would offer local law enforcement.
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The family of Tyre Nichols, who five black Memphis police officers beat following a traffic stop and foot chase last year, will hold two candlelight vigils on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his death.
Nichols’ family, who is being represented by civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, will hold a vigil in Memphis at the intersection of Castlegate Lane and Ross Road at 7 p.m. CT and in Nichols’ hometown of Sacramento, California, at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park at 5 p.m. PST.
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Memphis had the highest murder rate of 2023 in a comparison of 10 major cities identified as “homicide hubs” within the United States, according to an analysis published Wednesday.
The only Tennessee city tracked for the Wirepoints report, Memphis had a murder rate of 63.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023. A total of 397 homicides were reported in the city last year, up by 38 percent from 2022, when the city saw 288 homicides.
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A report published in November found more than 30,000 Tennesseans left Memphis between 2017 and 2022, causing the city to shrink by almost 5 percent, even as Tennessee’s other major cities grew over the same period. The exodus coincides with a years-long struggle with crime in Memphis that has subsisted despite repeated attempts to render aid by the state and federal governments.
The 2023 study of population decline in United States cities by SmartAsset found that Memphis declined from 652,231 residents in 2017 to 621,050 residents in 2022, marking a 4.78 percent decrease in the city’s population. Memphis had the 27th worst decline in population in the country, according to the study.
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As Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page plans to retire at the end of August in 2024, six judges from around the state are vying to replace him. The Tennessee Star plans to profile each of the applicants before they are interviewed for the position in January.
Judge Mary L. Wagner, a Circuit Court Judge for the Thirtieth Judicial District in Memphis, has applied to fill Page’s seat on the state’s highest court.
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Chimneyrock Elementary School in Memphis issued a statement after an “After School Satan Club” organized by the Satanic Temple and Reason Alliance is scheduled to take place on school grounds next month.
On its website, the Satanic Temple – the primary religious Satanic organization in the world – says its mission is to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.”
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The University of Memphis (UM) would not say Saturday whether it plans to allow Mikey Williams, a star basketball player, to return to the team after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony gun charge in order to avoid prison time.
According to several reports, Williams pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat stemming from am April shooting outside his California home.
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Tennessee has two of the four among the largest 50 metro cities that doesn’t have set tax funding for transit agencies, according to a new report.
ThinkTennessee found Nashville and Memphis join Orlando and Hartford as the only four that don’t have dedicated transit funding. The report showed that 39 of those cities collect sales tax to fund transit with those taxes ranging from 0.375% to 2% bringing in an average $394 million annually.
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Shelby County General Sessions Court Judge Bill Anderson released alleged Thanksgiving Day murderer Edio White with zero bond, even after police said White admitted to driving the getaway car after the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old. In a newly resurfaced video, Anderson is seen railing against the “bond system” in Shelby County and Tennessee.
Anderson critiqued cash bail in Tennessee during a September 18 meeting of the Shelby County Commission, extending his condemnation to bail bonding companies, claiming “they don’t do anything but collect money from poor people.”
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The Tennessee Board of Parole announced Tuesday that it will honor homicide victims with a “Season to Remember” event that is scheduled for December 7.
“For more than two decades, state and local public safety officials, along with families of homicide victims, have gathered to honor and remember victims and survivors of homicide during the holiday season,” said a press release. “This year will mark the state’s 21st annual ‘Tennessee Season to Remember’, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, December 7 at First Baptist Church in downtown Nashville.”
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Memphis Voices for Palestine will hold a rally on Wednesday as part of an effort demanding Tennessee U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) call for a ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces as well as vote against any legislation funding or arming Israel.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) announced on Monday that he ordered an increased Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) presence on highways and interstates in Shelby County to help contend with the criminal element in Memphis.
Lee issued a press release unveiling “a surge of approximately 40 additional troopers” beginning this week. On November 27, wrote Lee’s office, “an additional 15-20 troopers from other districts across the state will join the surge” and remain in Shelby County “for the foreseeable future.”
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A Republican state senator penned a two-page letter to Gov. Bill Lee (R) asking for state assistance to deal with Memphis’ recent crime surge.
Recounting recent spates of violence, many of which have been reported by The Tennessee Star, State Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said:
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Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young (D) warned that a small population of criminals are “terrorizing” the rest of the city’s residents during an appearance on News Channel 3 on Tuesday after the death of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital employee Alexander Bulakhov.
Police told local media Bulakhov was walking with his wife and two-year-old child on November 12 when a man wearing a hoodie pointed a gun at him and demanded his belongings. They report that he complied, but attempted to wrestle the gun away from the assailant after it was pointed at his wife. He was shot in the struggle and died from the shooting.
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The Memphis Police Department (MPD) says it has no leads following a viral video of two men driving a car erratically on the interstate over the weekend, stopping traffic.
The video has been circulating the internet since it was posted by KWAM Radio in Memphis on Sunday night. At least one person stood in the highway filming the incident.
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