Memphis Continues To See Increase In Violent Crimes

Image Credit: Luca Sartoni / CC

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Crime across Memphis continues with recent robberies at gunpoint of both a local news crew and utility company employees in two separate incidents.

Last week, a Fox13 news crew was robbed at gunpoint at the intersection of Poplar and Highland. Reporter Jeremy Pierre posted about the encounter on his Facebook page.

“Robbed at Poplar and Highland…Took the camera, tripod, and LIVEU,” Pierre wrote. “One of the dudes even showed me the gun in his waist band.”

Pierre also posted a picture of the getaway car. 

“Take a good look at the pics it’s the car the low downers got away in,” he said.

A Memphis Light, Gas, and Water crew was also robbed at gunpoint a few days ago as they worked to repair a transformer on North Woodlake Circle.

On November 11, three employees were approached by two armed men wearing dark clothing. The men took phones and wallets from the workers and then taunted them by forcing them to remove their work boots so they could “see their white socks.”

The men then fled the scene.

One of the workers later received a notification that a photo had been uploaded to his cloud from his phone. Police are now searching for the unidentified person of interest.

These incidents come after Memphis has made national headlines twice in recent weeks. Eliza Fletcher, a Memphis mom and teacher, was found dead after allegedly being kidnapped by career criminal Cleotha Abston. A few days later Ezekiel Kelly went on a shooting spree and even streamed a portion of the killing live on Facebook.

In his Friday newsletter, Democrat Mayor Jim Strickland commented on the crimes:

“Last week, I told you about a man who, while driving a car, struck a Memphis police officer on foot, causing him to roll over the hood and be thrown to the ground. He led officers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit and crashed into a citizens’ car. He fled on foot. Officers apprehended him and found him to be in possession of a handgun. He was given a $15,000 bond. Guess what happened? He has posted his bond, was released, and is out and about in the Memphis community.”

He continued, “This is the number one problem we have on the law enforcement side of trying to prevent crime – too often the judicial system does not keep violent offenders off the street.”

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com