Category: Crime of the Week

Crime of the Week #24

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July 22, 2022

HOMICIDE

A Cold Case
It was just after midnight on Thursday, July 26, 2012 when neighbors heard what sounded like shots coming from a house at 65 East Yates Road, south of Walnut Grove Road in east Memphis. Then they heard the sound of a vehicle speeding away.

When Memphis Police Officers arrived shortly after, they discovered the bodies of two men inside the residence. Anthony Conte, 26, and Robert Schmidt, 30, had both died of gunshot wounds.

Based on evidence found at the scene, MPD Homicide Bureau investigators believe the men were killed during a robbery. The case now is being worked by the Cold Case Unit, and detectives are asking the public’s help on the double murder.

Any witness or anyone with information is asked to call the Cold Case Hotline, (901) 636-2653, or to call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH (2274). CrimeStoppers has an extraordinary award available of $10,000. When combined with the $2,000 usually available in all homicide cases, a total of $12,000 can be paid to someone for help that leads to an arrest.

Crime of the Week #23

July 15, 2022

HOMICIDE

Memphis Police officers assigned to the Mt. Moriah station responded to a shooting call at 3630 Pearson Road, in a neighborhood between Lamar Avenue and American Way, at 9:30 p.m. Friday, June 24, 2022.

The address was on a dead-end street.

In front of a small house on the street officers located a shooing victim inside a red Toyota Corolla. The man, Justin Spriggs, was unresponsive. Paramedics arrived and pronounced Spriggs dead.

Detectives need help solving this crime. Anyone with information should contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #22

June 30, 2022

HOMICIDE

The time was 8:30 p.m. on July 4, 2021 when Memphis Police officers responded to a shooting report at the EZ Express in the 2300 block of Frayser Boulevard in the Frayser neighborhood of north Memphis.

On arrival they found store employee Ali Al Saedy. He had been shot and soon was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found outside the store.

The shooter is unknown to police. Detectives need help solving this murder. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274). All calls are kept strictly anonymous.

Crime of the Week #21

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June 17, 2022

HOMICIDE

A Cold Case
A report of a shooting brought Memphis Police officers to the “Always On” heating and air conditioning company building at 2129 E. Person Avenue, just off Lamar Avenue in the Orange Mound neighborhood. It was high noon on Saturday, November 18, 2017.

When they arrived they found the business’s owner, Steve Guidry, 67, on the floor near his office. He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Homicide detectives learned that a tan-colored SUV was seen on the property just before the murder occurred, and a blue four-door Chevrolet Impala or Malibu was seen leaving the property about the time of the shooting.

The Cold Case Unit of the Memphis Police Department is asking for the public’s help. Any witness to the shooting, or anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274) to report anonymously.

Crime of the Week #20

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June 8, 2022

HOMICIDE

A Cold Case
Firefighters with the Memphis Fire Department responded to a grass fire on what was then YMV Road, north of Fields Road and near Hicky Street in southwest Memphis. It was about 8 p.m. on October 16, 1974 — 47 years ago. As they worked to put out the fire they discovered a human body beneath a pile of burning debris.

The Memphis Police Department responded to a call from the Fire Department at 8:40 that night. The body later was identified as that of Gloria P. Johnson. The 19-year-old woman had been reported missing 10 days earlier. Cause of death was by multiple stab wounds, the Shelby County Medical Examiner ruled. She may have been killed and her body dumped in the field.

The Memphis Police Department’s Cold Case Unit is actively investigating this unsolved homicide case and is asking for the public’s help. The family has posted a new $10,000 extra award with CrimeStoppers in the case, making a total of $12,000 the amount available to someone who provides information that helps police make an arrest.

Anyone with information — it might be a witness from 1974 or someone who has heard information on this crime since then — is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH. A call is always anonymous and callers will be given a secret code.

Crime of the Week #19

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June 3, 2022

HOMICIDE

A Cold Case
Army Sergeant Calvin Wilhite Jr. and his fiance were leaving Beale Street and walking on S. Fourth Street just past the FedEx Forum on the night of Sunday, May 24, 2015 when Wilhite got into a short verbal altercation with two males who had pulled up alongside them in a vehicle. The couple, attempting to avoid further confrontation, crossed the street.

But the driver of the vehicle urged Wilhite back into the street and when he did so a passenger opened fire with a gun.

The vehicle, a greenish-gray four-door Chrysler Sebring, fled the scene, heading southbound across Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Wilhite was transported to Regional One Hospital where he later died of his gunshot injuries. His death was ruled a homicide by the Shelby County Medical Examiner.

Descriptions were obtained of the two suspects. The driver was described as a black male between 22 and 25 years old, with light complexion, hazel eyes and a high fade with curls on top. The passenger was a black male with dark complexion and chubby face. He also was between 22 and 25 years of age and had a fade hair style.

A special $20,000 award is available in this ongoing murder case for information leading to the arrest of one or more suspects. Anyone with helpful information is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #18

May 27, 2022

HOMICIDE

The report of an accident brought Memphis Police Department officers assigned to the Airways Precinct to Kimball Avenue and Kimball Cove in south Memphis at 10:53 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2022. There they located a shooting victim inside a crashed 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo SS.

Carlos Jackson had been shot multiple times. Memphis Fire Department personnel transported Jackson to Regional One Hospital. He died later from his wounds.

Police learned that multiple gunshots had been fired at Jackson’s vehicle, causing it to crash into a light pole. The homicide investigation is ongoing. Detectives need the public’s help to solve this case. Call CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #17

May 18, 2022

HOMICIDE

Memphis Police officers assigned to the Crump Station were dispatched to check an accident report outside the Tuscany Apartments building at 1531 Poplar Avenue in midtown Memphis at 11:49 Wednesday May 11, 2022. At the scene, near Williamson Street, the officers found a woman in a car suffering from a gunshot wound.

The victim was in the driver’s seat of a black Volkswagon Jetta. She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

A witness heard a gunshot, looked out a window, and saw the Jetta back up then move forward into another parked car.

Investigators need further help to solve this murder. Anyone with information is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #16

Memphis Police officers stationed at Austin Peay answered a shooting call in the 4400 block of Sunny View Drive in north Memphis Sunday, May 8, 2022. There they found a man lying in the street. He had been shot and was declared dead at the scene.

The victim had been seen arguing with another male on the street, and then 10 minutes later a dark-colored pickup truck drove by. Occupants of the truck and the victim exchanged angry words. Moments later the victim staggered away and fell in the street. The truck left the scene westbound on Smith Ridge Road.

Investigators are asking the public for help in this homicide case. Anyone with information should contact CrimeStoppers, 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #15

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May 13, 2022

HOMICIDE

A Cold Case
It was 7:17 on Christmas night, December 25, 2019, when officers assigned to the Austin Peay Memphis Police station were sent to check out a shooting at Tessland Road and Hawkins Mill.

When they arrived they found an unresponsive man who had been shot sitting in a Volkswagon. Memphis Fire Dept. paramedics rushed Deron Davis to Regional One Hospital in critical condition. He later died.

The officers learned that Davis had driven to a nearby store after celebrating the holiday with his family. His wife reported his phone called hers but all she could hear was music playing.

Anyone with information on this murder is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).