‘We need you to tell us’
Homicides in Memphis are up this year over the same time last year. Police are asking the public for help in solving the slayings, which total 86, with six being ruled justifiable.
Yolanda Jones
Reporter
46 recent articles by Yolanda Jones:
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June 2019
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Dual life of Brandon Webber not uncommon, experts say
Brandon Webber was an honor student, a rapper and a young father. But he was also accused in a violent carjacking where a Hernando man was shot five times. The duality of Webber is what some young people in Memphis face.
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Memphis police return to normal status after Frayser unrest
The Memphis Police Department has returned to normal alert status following last week’s protest unrest in Frayser.
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Billy Ray Turner, co-defendant in Lorenzen Wright's murder, pleads guilty to gun charge
Billy Ray Turner, co-defendant in the slaying of NBA star Lorenzen Wright, pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a gun on Monday, June 17. The murder trial of Turner and Sherra Wright, ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright will begin Sept. 16.
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Video visitations to resume Saturday at Shelby County jail
Video visitations will resume Saturday at the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar. Issues with the system have been repaired after a week of the service being down.
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Sprouts settles discrimination lawsuit with former Memphis employee
Sprouts and former Memphis employee reach settlement in federal lawsuit filed against the Phoenix-based grocer.
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'All we can do is cry,' says family of shooting victim
The family of Brandon Webber, the 20-year-old man shot and killed Wednesday by U.S. Marshals serving arrest warrants at a Frayser home, want answers about the fatal officer-involved shooting. The shooting sparked protesters to clash with police.
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Shooting details emerge after police, demonstrators clash in Frayser
A day after protesters clashed with police over the fatal shooting in Frayser of a 20-year-old man by U.S. Marshals, new details began to emerge and the victim's family began seeking answers.
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TBI continuing investigation into chaotic officer-involved Frayser shooting death
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating an officer-involved shooting in the Frayser area Wednesday night.
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Family, friends upset by issues with visitation at 201 Poplar
Technical difficulties with the video visitation system at 201 Poplar are preventing inmates from receiving visitors. Officials hope the problem is fixed by the end of the week.
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CrimeStoppers, police ask public for help in Glenn Cofield homicide
CrimeStoppers and Memphis police urged the public to come forward with information in the fatal shooting of financial executive Glenn Cofield. A reward from various private donors and CrimeStoppers has reached $26,000.
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No charges to be filed against MPD officer in 2018 fatal shooting
Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said her office will not file charges against a Memphis police officer in the 2018 officer-involved fatal shooting of a man on Summer Avenue.
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Two police stings net hundreds of arrests, drugs and guns
Memphis police arrest more than 300, seize 77 guns and drugs during two sting operations.
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Computer issues stop jail visitations at 201 Poplar for next week
Technical difficulties with visitation system at 201 Poplar causes the Shelby County Sheriff's Office to stop all jail visits for at least a week until the issue is resolved.
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'Wear Orange' anti-gun violence event moves indoors
The “Wear Orange” anti-gun violence rally will be held at Orange Mound Community Center because of rainy weather.
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Roy Nixon, Shelby County's first mayor, remembered as lawman, civic leader
Roy Nixon began his career as a lawman with Memphis police and later went into politics becoming Shelby County first mayor under a new form of government where he built relationships with other city leaders.
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James Ivy, Memphis' first African-American police director, dies at 81
James E. Ivy, the first African-American to lead the Memphis Police Department, died May 31 at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett after a long illness.
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Family of executed man seeks to have DNA in case tested
The daughter of Sedley Alley, the man convicted in the 1985 brutal murder and rape of Marine Lance Cpl. Suzanne Marie Collins in Millington, is seeking to have the DNA evidence in the case tested, some 13 years after her father was executed for the slaying.
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May 2019
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Police reports of camera infractions raise questions
A report memorializing procedural mistakes appears among hundreds of pages of records released Friday by the Memphis Police Department in answer to a public records request by the Institute for Public Service Reporting.
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Century-old homicide reports reflect timeless nature of crimes
Old homicide records stored at the Main Library offer a glimpse into century-old crimes and the reasons behind them.
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'Mama's Day Bail Out' frees women from jail in time for Mother's Day
Six women will be bailed out of jail this week during Mother's Day Bail Out by the Official Black Lives Matter Memphis Chapter. Since 2017, the group has paid bail for 30 men and women in Memphis and Shelby County in its effort to end cash bail.
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Commission committee backs resolution to support censuring Judge Jim Lammey
A resolution condemning Criminal Court Judge Jim Lammey's social media postings won committee support from county commissioners Wednesday.
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Fire damages Gibson Guitar factory
A fire damaged the Gibson Guitar factory Downtown Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said one construction worker was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
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Rapper BlocBoy JB appears in court, case reset for May 20
BlocBoy JB appeared in court Monday on marijuana and gun charges after his arrest Friday. He will be back in court May 20.
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Fire damage estimated at $5 million to building in Forum Flats development
Damage is estimated at $5 million to one building under construction in the 205-unit development at Danny Thomas and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
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Rapper BlocBoy JB posts bail following arrest, to appear at Music Fest
Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and possession of marijuana Friday, the day he is set to perform at Beale Street Music Festival.
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Muslim organization calls for disciplinary review of Memphis judge's comments
The nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Thursday called for a disciplinary review of a Memphis judge under fire for controversial social media postings.
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April 2019
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Mother of man fatally shot by Memphis police in 2018 files federal lawsuit
The mother of a man shot and killed by Memphis police in April 2018 has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the police department, saying the officers who killed her son used excessive force and violated his civil and constitutional rights.
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Grieving families find solace at annual homicide victim memorial service
Families and friends attended the 14th annual Garden of Lights Celebration at the Memphis Botanic Garden to honor loved ones they lost to homicide.
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Kids follow their ears at Easter egg hunt for blind, visually impaired
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office and Clovernook Center hosted a "beeping" Easter egg hunt on Good Friday for the blind and visually impaired.
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More than 200 Shelby County Sheriff's deputies pass psychological testing
More than 200 Shelby County Sheriff's deputies who had to retake psychological testing have all passed. Now, 188 corrections officers are retaking the test in the coming weeks, officials said.
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Five Memphis doctors, nurses indicted in federal opioid sting
Five Memphis doctors and nurses were charged in connection with a federal major drug bust of dozens of medical professionals accused of distributing illegal prescription opioids and other narcotics.
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Shelby County School Board member Scott McCormick charged with DUI
Shelby County School Board member Scott McCormick was arrested and charged with DUI after an accident in Downtown Memphis over the weekend. He was released from jail on a $1,000 bond on the misdemeanor charges.
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Texting service for 911 calls starts in Memphis
Need help but can't call? A text-to-911 service launched in Memphis April 9 that allows anyone to text for help in an emergency situation.
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Police report: Shooter of Mississippi Boulevard executive pastor yelled 'You broke my heart'
A Collierville Police report released Monday gave the first details of the fatal Thursday shooting of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church Executive Pastor Brodes Perry. Latoshia Daniels is charged with first-degree murder.
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Man found guilty in 2016 murder of young mother
Kwasi Corbin was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the slaying of 18-year-old Myneishia Johnson, a young mother gunned down as she celebrated her upcoming high school graduation in Downtown Memphis on a summer night in 2016.
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Judge Robert Weiss gets slapped with public reprimand
Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Robert Weiss has received a rare public reprimand for taking too long to issue rulings in two cases.
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Voter ID dispute causes brief controversy
A nonprofit group's efforts to secure voter identification cards in downtown Memphis Wednesday caused a brief uproar, though Shelby County Court Clerk Wanda Halbert said it was a misunderstanding.
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Black Lives Matter activist wins defamation suit against former Shelby County commissioner
Black Lives Matter activist Pamela Moses has won a defamation lawsuit against former Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland, but the $500 award for court costs and fees was far short of the $1 million the suit sought.
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Trial of man accused of killing young mother begins this week
The trial begins this week for a man charged with killing a Booker T. Washington High School student days before she was set to graduate in 2016.
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March 2019
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Former Tiger Andre Allen arrested again on pot, gun charges
Former University of Memphis basketball player Andre Allen was arrested again on pot and gun charges. He will be in court April 1 on the charges.
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Shelby County Drug Court celebrates graduates at 250th graduation
Shelby County Drug Court held its 250th graduation ceremony Wednesday, with 16 people graduating from the alternative sentencing program for drug offenders.
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Eight MPD officers disciplined, impound lot employee fired following investigation of body found in van
A City of Memphis impound lot employee has been fired and eight Memphis police officers suspended or demoted following an internal investigation into why a man’s body was not found in the back of a van for 49 days.
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Pandora Duckett disappearance spotlights dementia safety issue
Pandora Duckett, an 86-year-old woman with Alzheimer's wandered away from her home 55 days ago. Her family is offering a $10,000 reward for her safe return home. As the population ages, families are turning to tracking devices and ID bracelets to help find their family members if they wander from home.
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Death penalty opponents call for alternatives, reform
Tennessee officials have defended capital punishment, saying it brings justice to victims' families. But at a recent discussion at LeMoyne-Owen College, panelists with personal stories about death row said the system is broken.
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Off-duty Memphis police officer killed in car crash
An off-duty Memphis police officer was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Raleigh early Thursday morning.
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