Trials for the two defendants in the 2018 killing of Greater Memphis Chamber CEO and President Phil Trenary have been separated after a judge’s Thursday, Oct. 5, ruling.

McKinney Wright, 27, appeared in Shelby County Criminal Court Division 8 Judge Chris Craft’s courtroom for a motion hearing. The judge considered several pre-trial motions, including a motion to sever his trial from his co-defendant, Quandarius Richardson, 23.

Craft approved Wright’s request to separate his trial from Richardson’s. Wright is scheduled to begin his trial Oct. 23, but Richardson’s new trial date, which will occur later, has not been set.

Trial for suspects in Trenary killing delayed to October 2023

An evidentiary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 11 to consider Wright’s defense team’s allegations that there was insufficient probable cause to conduct a warrantless arrest and that Wright was easily coerced into giving police a statement because of his intellectual disability.

Katherine Oberembt and Jason Ballenger of the Law Office of Massey McClusky represented Wright during Thursday's motion hearing. Wright also is represented by Lauren Fuchs, also with the Massey firm, who was not present during the hearing. 

Other motions considered during Wright’s hearing included motions to exclude evidence, motions to inspect audio and video evidence, as well as transcripts of juvenile proceedings and psychiatric evaluations for Ricanisha Wright, a former co-defendant whose case was dropped. She was later charged with attempted first-degree murder in a separate case.

During the hearing, prosecutor Jose Leon with the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office expressed concern that the trial would get reset due to the defense team gathering last-minute evidence, including a new IQ test on Wright.

He pointed to Trenary’s daughter, Brittney Rowe, who sat watching the proceeding.

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“She’s been patiently waiting for five years to have her day in court, and every time it comes close to a court date or trial date, the Massey firm delays it one way or another,” Leon said.

McKinney and Richardson were originally scheduled to begin trial Dec. 5, 2022, but the trial was reset because Wright’s defense attorney at the time, Lorna McClusky, was hired into the DA’s office as chief of the newly formed Justice Review Unit.

After the hearing, Rowe said she “fully anticipated (the) Massey firm filing a flurry of motions very shortly before a trial that we’ve been waiting five years on.”

“Judge Craft has a great reputation,” Rowe said. “And I just continue to have faith in the criminal justice process. I’ve done so for five years. And I’m going to hold onto that until it proves otherwise for us, really. So my hope is that ... justice will be served at the end of this, even though it’s been a long road, and obviously, we still have a very long road ahead, even getting to the trial on Oct. 23.”

Ballenger said he has no plans for the trial to be reset again.

“She’s been patiently waiting for five years to have her day in court, and every time it comes close to a court date or trial date, the Massey firm delays it one way or another.”

Jose Leon
A prosecutor with the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office

“I’m obviously hoping that McKinney Wright gets a fair, impartial jury, which is the concern you have when you have a high-profile case,” Ballenger said. “And we hope that we’ve got a jury willing to listen to our case.”

Wright is charged with first-degree murder and criminal attempt of especially aggravated robbery.

Richardson, represented by Paul Guibao, is charged with first-degree murder, criminal attempt of especially aggravated robbery, theft of property $10,000-$60,000 and intent to evade arrest in an automobile with a risk of death.

Trenary was killed Sept. 28, 2018, on South Front Street while walking home from a fundraiser at Loflin Yard.

According to initial statements from police, the two suspects drove up to Trenary as he was walking. Then Wright allegedly got out of the truck and shot Trenary.

A Daily Memphian editor is related to a member of the prosecution’s legal team but was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.