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Last week in Criminal Court Division 4 (Judge Blackett), Chief Prosecutor Carrie Bush and Senior Felony Assistant Sarah Poe obtained a guilty verdict for Second Degree Murder against defendant Mario Rogers. In this case, defendant Rogers was angry after a fight that occurred around the corner from the crime scene. He got into his car and after trying to hit several people, he drove past victim Curtis Blackmon, then did a U-turn and rammed his car into victim Blackmon. As a consequence, victim Blackmon suffered a traumatic brain injury and never regained consciousness. He remained in the hospital from the date of his injury, October 18, 2017, until the date he died on July 31, 2018.
Last week in General Sessions Division 13 (Judge Montesi), ADA Stephanie Russell conducted preliminary hearings on 2 counts of Aggravated Assault. Defendant Cassaundra Bell came to the location where a friend was being evicted. Her friend and the 2 women evicting her got into a verbal altercation. Defendant Bell allegedly pulled a handgun and pointed it at the 2 victims, with her finger on the trigger. The victims were in fear of their lives, and also their 4 children's’ lives, who were outside in the car. Judge Montesi found probable cause and held both cases to state, as charged.
Update: Defendant Chase Harris, the alleged shooter at Huey’s restaurant, waived his right to preliminary hearings on Monday in all pending cases against him. These cases will now go to the Grand Jury for indictment. If indicted, the matters will proceed to criminal court. Also, his bond was increased (see article from WMCTV 5 here).
In last week's newsletter, we mistakenly credited an Associated Press article written by Adrian Sainz and Kimberly Kruesi to The Washington Post. We would like to correct the record, and properly credit Associated Press, as well as Mr. Sainz and Mrs. Kruesi: Ruling on Tennessee’s anti-drag law leaves questions about enforcement, next steps.
 Save the date for the next in DA Mulroy's Community Town Hall series Thursday, June 29th at 5:30pm at Germantown City Hall.
Pictured left, ADA Fredricka Brown and DA Mulroy, at the SCDAG booth at the Sidney Chism's 23rd Annual Community Picnic in Horn Lake. For more, see this from Memphis Flyer: 2023 Sidney Chism Picnic.
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Last week, the SCDAG Office presented the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) with an appreciation certificate for the Judgmental Shooting training that agents provided to our office in April. This is the same training used by TBI to train officers, and helps prosecutors appreciate the kinds of quick decisions law enforcement must make regarding use of force. Pictured, left to right: Assistant Chief CID Marty Tartera, Special Agent in Charge Mark Lewis, Justice Review Unit Chief Lorna McClusky, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mark Reynolds, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brock Sain, and Special Agent Sam Strickland.
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From Daily Memphian: Changing teams: Public defenders drawn to prosecution
"'It’s pretty obvious that I think that public defenders have the requisite experience. They’ve been in this building, trying cases in the same courts. They know how it works. So there would be very little training time. And that’s very attractive because we have a lot of vacancies and we have a real need for experienced criminal attorneys.'
Mulroy said some public defenders who have joined his office thought they would never become a prosecutor. 'But then they learned about how I wanted to be a reformer prosecutor,' Mulroy said. 'And that made them open to prosecuting for the first time.'"
From Memphis Business Journal: Honorees named in MBJ's 2023 Best of the Bar awards
Honorees include DA Mulroy.
From WMCTV5: Tennessee’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law: When is it okay to use deadly force?
"'The general rule,' said DA Mulroy, 'is you can’t use deadly force to protect property. You can use deadly force to protect people. Tennessee says that you are presumed to have the necessary threat that justifies the use of deadly force if it’s a home break-in.'"
 Stay safe and thanks for reading,
Steve Mulroy
District Attorney
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