The Shelby County District Attorney General’s office has announced indictments in two murder cases.
Man indicted in 2018 north Memphis parking lot killing
A murder case from last summer just south of Bartlett now has an indictment. Cortney Walton, 24, has been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the death of Joshua Armstrong, 18.
Armstrong was sitting in a car outside a northeast Memphis business when he was shot multiple times, according to Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich. He was found on June 15, 2018, in the 6800 block of Hillshire Drive near Whitten Road.
After the incident, a tipster told police the shooter was Walton, who lives in the vicinity. When Walton was brought in for questioning, he admitted the shooting.
Walton was also indicted on charges of tampering with evidence for allegedly selling the firearm used in the killing.
The case is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Michael McCusker.
domestic violence case yields murder charge
A 29-year-old man has been indicted on first-degree murder charges for the shooting death of a woman who was trying to end their relationship last December, according to Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.
Defendant James Abston, who worked as a manager at an adult nightclub on Lamar, is being held without bond in the Shelby County Jail.
Investigators said that on Dec. 22, 2018, the victim, Tyesha Wallace, 26, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds. She was seated in a running vehicle owned by Abston, and the vehicle had crashed into a bush in front of a home in the 600 block of Harrell Street near Faxon and Scott streets.
Abston had been seen in the area looking for Wallace shortly before she was killed, investigators said. Wallace had been living with Abston and his wife.
The case is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Jen Morris of the DA’s Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit, which prosecutes felony cases of domestic assault and homicide committed by intimate partners.
The Unit also works closely with the Shelby County Family Safety Center to provide services and assistance to victims and their families.
