Crime of the Week #28

August 17, 2022

HOMICIDE

Memphis Police officers assigned to the Crump precinct were dispatched to check out a shooting report at 9:06 p.m. Saturday, August 13, 2022 in the 2800 block of Chelsea Avenue, an industrial strip. They arrived at the edge of the Berclair neighborhood of north Memphis to find a maroon 2014 Chevrolet Corvette had been knocked off the road after colliding with a train.

Inside the Corvette they found Marcus Allen, 33. He was in the driver’s seat. He had been shot several times. Memphis Fire Dept. paramedics pronounced Allen dead at the scene.

A witness who called police told officers the Corvette had been stopped by the northbound train and was waiting to cross the tracks when a white sedan — possibly a Chevrolet Covalt — pulled alongside the driver’s side. Occupants then opened fire on the victim. The suspects’ vehicle made a sudden U-turn and fled west on Chelsea.

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

Crime of the Week #27

August 11, 2022

HOMICIDE

A shots fired report brought Memphis Police officers assigned to the Mt Moriah station to the 4000 block of Willowview Avenue in southeast Memphis. It was 12:53 a.m. August 5, 2022 as officers arrived and located a shooting victim.

Juan Marcos Garcia was sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2002 Honda Accord. He was unresponsive and had a gunshot wound to his left shoulder at the collarbone. Memphis Fire Department paramedics declared Garcia dead at the scene at 1:06 a.m.

Officers found a bullet hole in the driver’s side door window. A second person who was uninjured stated he was in the passenger seat of the Honda and they were traveling eastbound when he heard two shots and saw two men standing on the north side of the road.

Garcia was able to stop the car before he fell unconscious.

Investigators are asking for the public’s help solving this murder. Anyone who saw or heard information about this crime is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #26

August 5, 2022

HOMICIDE

Memphis Police officers assigned to the Crump Station responded to a home invasion report on Sunday, July 24, 2022.

They arrived at 674 Hawthorne Street in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood of Midtown Memphis. There officers found Beau Grauer on the floor of the den. He had a gunshot wound to his face.

Memphis Fire Dept. paramedics arrived within minutes and pronounced Grauer dead. Detectives in this ongoing murder investigation need the public’s help. Anyone with information should contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

Crime of the Week #25

July 28, 2022

HOMICIDE

It was in the middle of a Sunday afternoon — 2 p.m. November 1, 2021 to be exact — when shots rang out in the 1100 block of Bradley Street, near Barron Avenue in the Orange Mound neighborhood. A man had been seen getting out of a car, talking to a pedestrian and then shooting him.

Memphis Police officers assigned to the Airways station were dispatched. They arrived and found Desmond Rogers lying in the street in front of a house on Bradley. The man was suffering from gunshot wounds. Rogers was transported to Regional One Hospital in critical condition. He died of his injuries soon after arriving.

A suspect was seen emerging from a black sedan and shooting Rogers. Detectives need more information in this murder. Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).

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).