The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has released information on the sentencing, convictions and indictments for its latest cases.
Man indicted in killing of acquaintance
A South Memphis man has been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of an acquaintance earlier this year stemming from an ongoing dispute, the DA’s office announced Tuesday.
A grand jury also indicted defendant Floyd Middlebrook, 24, on the felony charge of convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail.
The shooting was on March 30 outside a residence in the 2900 block of Southwall. Witnesses said victim Donell Lloyd was shot several times by Middlebrook as the victim exited a vehicle. Lloyd, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Theresa McCusker of the DA’s Vertical Prosecution Team 1.
Man convicted of sexually abusing children
A Memphis has been convicted of sexually abusing children at his Whitehaven apartment where he had invited their parents for a barbecue.
The DA’s office announced Monday that a Criminal Court jury found defendant Jimmie Liddell, 52, guilty on four counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of attempted aggravated sexual battery, and one count of solicitation of a minor: to wit aggravated sexual battery.
Liddell was convicted of sexually molesting five boys and girls between ages 4 and 9 in April of 2016 inside his Whitehaven apartment while the parents of the children were tending the grill outside.
He is a previously convicted sex offender and faces more than 100 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 19 by Judge Lee Coffee.
The Liddell case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Dru Carpenter and Alyssa Hennig of the DA’s Special Victims Unit, which prosecutes cases of child sexual abuse and severe physical abuse of child victims; rape and aggravated rape of adult victims, and abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults.
SVU reviews child-victim cases with Shelby County’s multi-agency Child Protection Investigative Team.
Man indicted in woman’s shooting death
A southeast Memphis man has been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of a female acquaintance in June, the DA’s office announced Friday, Aug. 16.
Defendant Terrell Craft, 43, also was indicted on three counts of aggravated assault for pointing his gun at three other people who were with the victim. Craft is being held in the Shelby County Jail.
An investigation showed that the victim, Corrisha Teal, 26, was shot multiple times during a confrontation with Craft on the afternoon of June 14 this year near a townhome in the 6900 block of Birch Lake Drive.
Craft said he shot the victim because she had disrespected him in front of the others.
The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Theresa McCusker of the DA’s Vertical Team 1, which handles cases in General Sessions Div. 7 and Criminal Court Div. 1.
Jury convicts clerk in teen’s fatal shooting over 1 beer
A North Memphis grocery clerk was convicted Thursday, Aug. 15, of killing a teen last year who had run out of the store with a beer without paying.
A Criminal Court jury convicted Anwar Ghazali of second-degree murder following a four-day trial. He remains in custody and will be sentenced on Sept. 23 by Judge W. Mark Ward.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. on March 29 last year at the Top Stop Shop at 1127 Springdale, where 17-year-old Dorian Harris entered the store, took at least one beer from a cooler and left without paying.
Ghazali pulled out a handgun, ran after Harris for a short distance on Springdale and fired several shots at Harris. As he returned to the store, Ghazali said to a witness, “I think I shot him.” The clerk did not call police.
At around 4 p.m. on March 31, a neighbor found Harris’s body in a yard at the rear of 1149 Springdale near the grocery. He had a gunshot wound in the back of his left thigh.
The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Tracye Jones and Lora Fowler.
Man convicted of sexually abusing young girl
A Binghampton man has been convicted of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl who was spending the night with her family at the apartment of her mother’s ex-boyfriend.
The DA’s office announced Monday that defendant Santos Morales, 37, was convicted on one count of aggravated sexual battery involving a sexual assault on the young girl December 2016 at an apartment in Binghampton.
The Criminal Court jury returned its verdict on Thursday, Aug. 15.
His bond was revoked, and he will be sentenced next month by Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett.
This SVU case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Sarah Poe and Jermal Blanchard.
Suspect in baby’s shooting death indicted
A Whitehaven man was indicted Wednesday, Aug. 14, on first-degree murder charges in the car-to-car shooting death of 2-year-old Laylah Washington in the Hickory Hill area of southeast Memphis.
The widely publicized shooting was a mystery for more than a year until a tip to CrimeStoppers led to the arrest of Tylan McCray, 21, last December. His cousin, 20-year-old Brandon McCray, the alleged driver, was indicted as an accessory.
Tylan McCray also was indicted on three counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail. Brandon McCray is free on bond.
The shooting occurred the evening of June 11, 2017, shortly after the baby’s mother pulled in at a sandwich shop in the 6700 block of Winchester to pick up her two teenage sons who worked there. As she drove away and turned down Kirby Parkway, a dark-colored Chevrolet pulled alongside her car and a man in the rear passenger seat began shooting at her vehicle.
Baby Laylah, who was in a child seat, was struck in the head, while several other shots hit the side of the car. Her mother drove to a fire station on Winchester, where paramedics transported the baby to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. She died two days later.
The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Alanda Dwyer of the DA’s Special Prosecution Unit in Criminal Court Division 7. The unit seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.
Accused killer gets 33 years as career criminal
A South Memphis man who has pending first-degree murder charges in state court has been sentenced in federal court to more than 30 years in prison as an armed career criminal, the DA’s office announced Aug. 13.
James Nelson, 48, who was sentenced by U.S. Dist. Court Judge Sheryl Lipman, pled guilty earlier to being a felon in possession of a firearm stemming from the shooting death of his former girlfriend two years ago.
He has several previous felony convictions involving drugs, guns and violent crimes, including a voluntary manslaughter conviction in 1996 in the shooting death of his sister.
The judge on Monday, Aug. 12, sentenced him to the maximum 405 months, or just over 33 years in federal prison, where there is no parole.
In state Criminal Court, Nelson is charged with the first-degree murder of Keysha Caldwell, 43, who was shot to death on Sept. 15, 2017, in front of their teenage daughter in the 1400 block of Gaither St. near Mississippi Boulevard.
The case was investigated by the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force, which includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office; the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Memphis Police Department; and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, who have all joined together to address gun-related crimes through targeted investigations and aggressive prosecution.
Special Assistant U.S. Atty. Samuel D. Winnig prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. SAUSA Winnig is currently assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office for the purpose of prosecuting violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.
