A planned surge of public-safety resources into Downtown Memphis comes after years of public perception souring on safety in the central business district.

DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton announced “Operation Final Departure” to help the incoming Trump administration with its vow to deport immigrants. Barton’s effort will focus on inmates in the DeSoto County jail.

The City of Memphis plans to invest additional resources Downtown — including almost 200 more cameras — to make the area safer. 

The TBI is investigating, and the sheriff’s office does not currently believe anyone else was involved in the inmate’s death. 

“I think he was used by his brother,” the prosecutor said after the sentencing. “I think he knew better, and he obviously knew things were fishy and that he shouldn’t be doing these things. He is not a criminal.”

The town hall addressed two issues before the Shelby County Commission. One would help in expunging juvenile records. while the other would require recording and legal representation for youth during questioning by law enforcement.

“Anything that we can do to deter crime is the issue,” said Miska Clay Bibbs, the Shelby County commissioner who represents District 11, which includes Hickory Hill.

An employee of the Rankin County Detention Center confirmed Zimmerman was booked into the facility earlier Wednesday but could not provide further information.

The City of Memphis is eyeing a single-item tax on food and other items sold Downtown to fund the district’s security, beautification and assistance for the area’s unhoused population. 

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy announced the decision to appeal two decisions by a lower court judge to release multiple-shooting suspects without bond in recent weeks.

The new sentence includes no prison time. Robinson received a sentence of time served in 2022. Instead, U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman imposed a fine of $48,600. 

A teenager is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting another student at Central High School on Monday, Nov. 18.

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Central High student in critical condition after shooting

Memphis police officers found a male victim in a parking lot behind Central High and transported him to Regional One Health in critical condition.

Valerie Smith and James Newsom are among the three finalists to be considered by Gov. Bill Lee for a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Attorneys for RowVaughn Wells, Tyre Nichols’ mother, said that the city “misused” the court docket and is attempting “to poison the jury pool” in a case set for trial next year.

It is unclear whether MPD Interim Chief C.J. Davis has the council votes to become the full-time chief again, but she appears to have gained at least one vote since January.

Several local officials are backing a new state law that will allow judges and judicial commissioners access to at least some juvenile court records in setting bail.

The claims add a new twist to the $550 million civil rights lawsuit that Tyre Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, and his estate have filed against the City of Memphis following Nichols’ 2023 beating and death at the hands of five now-former Memphis Police Department officers. 

The Memphis Police Department is hosting a new local TV show to showcase its efforts in curbing crime in the city.

Ezekiel Kelly faces dozens of charges for allegedly killing three people and injuring three others on Sept. 7, 2022 while Memphis was on lockdown.

All three defendants are also asking the court to be tried separately from one another.

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“No matter what happens with respect to the Trump administration, the city and county are prepared to make this office sustainable and continue the commitments,” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said of the question of continued federal support in the Trump administration.

At a Thursday, Nov. 14, hearing in Collierville, Lydia McGuinn, a clinic manager for at the time of the shooting, spoke on the stand. 

Two corrections officers had already been taken into custody and charged with bribery of a public servant, possession of contraband in a penal facility, possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute and official misconduct.

Property crimes are trending down compared to last year, but the Memphis Police Department is still expecting a spike in business-related crimes during the holidays.