 In January, the SCDAG office launched a Smash and Grab Unit (led by Assistant District Attorneys Paul Hagerman and Forrest Edwards) in partnership with MPD to address the rise in organized retail theft in Shelby County. The Unit enables our office to take cases of organized retail theft and channel them through the same prosecutors to identify patterns and repeat offenders, coordinating closely with members of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit.
The SCDAG Smash and Grab Unit partnered with MPD to assist in the successful “Operation Broken Bottles” targeting smash and grab burglaries, obtaining 15 indictments totaling 87 counts.
“These ‘smash and grab’ burglaries have wreaked havoc on both businesses and the wider community, said DA Mulroy. "I am pleased with MPD’s effective response, proud of my own staff’s role, and glad we set up a task force for this problem within our own office. It shows how effective we can be when we partner with law enforcement.”
Pictured above, DA Mulory speaking at the press conference. For video, see from WREG: DA Mulroy speaks at the press conference for "Operation Broken Bottles".
Last week, ADAs Dru Carpenter and Brittany Neal won a guilty as charged verdict in the matter of State v. Tony Thomas, a cold case aggravated rape from 2005. In this case, the victim and the defendant met at a mutual friend’s house. They were already acquaintances. The defendant asked the victim to drive him home. She went into the house, where he then hid her keys and forced her onto the couch and raped her, holding her down and striking her in the face. She escaped, went to the hospital, and called police. The investigation stalled but was reopened in 2015 when the victim’s rape kit was sent off for testing and a CODIS hit came back to the defendant.
Last Friday, ADA Fredricka Brown handled preliminary hearings for defendants Rashad and Randall Ballard. The defendants were allegedly involved in a 5 day crime spree that involved carjacking and stealing cars. The court found probable cause, and the cases will proceed to grand jury. Both suspects remain in custody.
ADA Rob Steele handled a bench trial in Division 12 (Judge Lucchesi) in which defendant Christopher Miles was charged with DV Assault, that ended in a guilty verdict on Assault. The victim and his mother (who was also a previous victim of the defendant) will be back to testify for the sentencing on the A Misdemeanor verdict.
 On June 17th, members of the SCDAG office hosted a Mock Trial workshop in collaboration with the University of Memphis School of Law PLUS program – a summer introduction to the legal field for college students from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds. Pictured above, left to right: Intern Kourtney Thomas, CID Marlon Wright, ADA Matthew John, Intern Cody Tolbert, ADA Kindle Nance, ADA Chris Lareau, ADDA Ernest Brooks II, ADA Alicia Walton; and, also participating but not pictured, ADA Errol Harmon.
Last week Tuesday, DA Mulroy spoke at the FBI Citizen's Academy Alumni Association meeting. The FBI Citizens Academy programs are six-to-eight-week programs that give business, religious, civic, and community leaders an inside look at the FBI, and are held at field offices all over the country. To learn more, click here.
The gallery, a collaboration between the SCDAG Office, Do the Write Thing, the BRIDGES Youth Action Center, and the Memphis Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Collaborative, highlights the work of local students as they examined the impact of violence on their lives and their communities. To learn more about the work featured in the gallery, and how you can get involved, click here.
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From Daily Memphian: Dozens arrested for alleged roles in retail theft ring
"The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office launched a Smash and Grab Unit in partnership with MPD in January.
'These kinds of partnerships between our DA’s office and various parts of law enforcement, I think, is essential to what we’re trying to do to bend the curve on crime in Shelby County,' said Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.
Mulroy said the next step in this case is to ensure the individuals are prosecuted 'fully and and vigorously.'"
From Daily Memphian: Mulroy says judicial commissioners should set unaffordable bail, in certain cases
"'I would advocate for the judicial commissioners being a little bit more willing to lean into unaffordable bail, i.e., pretrial detention, in cases where there’s a long repeat history of crime,' Mulroy said during a taping of WKNO’s “Behind the Headlines” Wednesday, June 28.
'But lest my comments be read as dumping on the judicial commissioners, who I think, by and large, do a good job, I want to say: Although there are some high-profile cases where we disagree with what they did, I consider those to be the exceptions, not the rule.'"
This week’s Behind The Headlines show on WKNO devotes the entire episode to an interview of DA Mulroy. You can view it on Friday at 7PM or Sunday at 8:30AM, or access it on the WKNO website here.
From WMCTV5: Man charged with child abuse after day care investigation
"Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said last week that once charges were filed, the next step would be to bring the accused abuser to a grand jury within a week."
From Daily Memphian: Bail unchanged for man charged in Sequoia Samuels’ death
"The bail previously set for the man accused of being involved in the recent death of 4-year-old Sequoia Samuels will remain the same, at least for now...
...The district attorney’s office will now review the case for any additional charges while Hobson awaits a possible indictment by the grand jury, according to [ADA] Eric Christensen with the district attorney’s office."
 Happy Independence Day for next week, I hope you all enjoy celebrating safely. Stay safe and thanks for reading,
Steve Mulroy
District Attorney
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