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Defendant Convicted of Assault in Stabbing of Neighbor
Yesterday in Criminal Court Division 3 (Judge James Jones, Jr.), ADAs Shannon Toon and Rachel Moore won a guilty verdict of Assault against defendant Franchesca Gray. In this case, defendant Gray became involved in an argument on the phone with her friend's husband, the victim. The argument escalated, and defendant Gray went to the victim's house and attempted to pepper spray the victim, ultimately stabbing him in the shoulder. Defendant Gray is currently serving 10 years' probation for Voluntary Manslaughter in another case, and is scheduled for sentencing on the Assault conviction in August.
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Sexual Battery, Aggravated Kidnapping, and Aggravated Assault
Last week in Criminal Court Division 7 (Judge Lee Coffee), defendant Patrick Greene pled guilty to 20 years at 100% on charges of Aggravated Sexual Battery on one indictment, and charges of Aggravated Kidnapping and Aggravated Assault on another. In the first case, the victim reported that defendant Greene, her mother's ex-boyfriend, had repeatedly sexually assaulted her from ages 5 to 15, and had done the same to the victim's older sister. In the second case, defendant Greene pulled a knife on his girlfriend, forced her into a vacant house across the street, and punched her in the face repeatedly. She was able to escape and run home, where the defendant later attacked her again. The victim suffered serious injury fighting off her attacker, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. ADA Devon Dennis handled the case.
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Theft of Property after Stealing over $1 million from Nonprofit Organization
This week in Criminal Court Division 1 (Judge Paula Skahan), defendant Frederick McWilliams pled guilty to Theft of Property over $60,000 but less than $250,000, a B Felony. He was sentenced to 12 years Community Corrections with Restitution to be paid to victim United Supreme Council 33 (Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Affiliation), a nonprofit organization, in the amount of $1,144,000.00. While working as the organization’s building manager and IT specialist, defendant McWilliams gained unauthorized access to the bank account and used numerous fraudulent transactions to route to himself payments totaling over $1 million.
This guilty plea is the result of the hard work of the newly expanded Public Corruption and Economic Crimes Unit: Chief Prosecutor Dennis Johnson, ADA Dan Buchanan, Senior Felony Assistant Steven Crossnoe, and Paralegal Mary Johnson. Thank you to Criminal Investigators Larry Carson, LeChelle Clark, Joe Poindexter, Marlon Wright, and Tom Warrick for assisting with witness transportation, serving subpoenas, and locating witnesses.
 DA Mulroy and Deputy DA Ray Lepone (pictured above) attended the National District Attorneys Association Summit held in Nashville earlier this week. Also attending were ADAs Scott Bearup, Errol Harmon, Shaun Schielke, and Alicia Washington.
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While in Nashville for the NDAA Summit, ADDA Ernest Brooks and Chief Prosecutor (Juvenile Court) Alicia Washington observed the settlement docket at the Davidson County Juvenile Court. Davidson County streamlines its proceedings by splitting its Delinquency Docket (involving youths accused of violations of law) into two separate dockets: a settlement docket (cases resolved through agreement between prosecution and defense) and a trial docket (cases going to trial). In Shelby County, we currently set both settlements and trials on one Delinquency Docket. Shelby County Juvenile Court intends to implement a pilot of this separated Delinquency Docket starting Monday next week. ADDA Brooks and ADA Washington were able to observe how this docket operates, and to prepare for implementing the same in Shelby County.
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 At the NDAA Summit, DA Mulroy met former Congressman Zach Wamp (pictured above, left), a leading national voice among Republicans for sensible electoral reform. Thanks to DA Coty Wamp (pictured above, center), Hamilton County District Attorney General, for the introduction.
Marren Blakely, City of Memphis Prosecutor, has been designated to work in our office under SCDAG auspices doing neighborhood preservation and nuisance actions.
Welcome to the team, Marren!
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From Daily Memphian: Burglary ring’s suspected organizers remain in custody, with a few exceptions
Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said his office has worked closely with the Memphis Police Department to bring indictments against 15 “of the most serious leaders” of the organized theft operation, dubbed Operation Broken Bottles.
'The ringleaders of this organization are now behind bars,” Mulroy said during a June 29 town hall meeting in Germantown. “And there’ll be more indictments to come from that effort.'"
From The Commercial Appeal: Arrest warrant issued for Davonte Pack, best friend of Ja Morant
"The warrant, obtained by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, charges Pack with misdemeanor assault with intent to do bodily harm and was confirmed to be for Pack allegedly punching the teen, Joshua Holloway, at Morant's house in Eads.
'The Shelby County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for the arrest of Davonte Pack, who has been charged with simple assault in relation to the July 2022 altercation involving Mr. Pack, Memphis Grizzlies basketball player Ja Morant, and a juvenile basketball player at Mr. Morant's residence in Eads,' the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said in an email statement Monday evening. 'The SCSO consulted with the SCDAG before obtaining the warrant.'"
From Daily Memphian: Sanford: Despite personal opposition, Mulroy makes right call on death penalty cases
“In announcing his decision in the Kelly case in March, Mulroy was open about his objections to capital punishment.
‘I’ve made no secret of my personal objections to the death penalty as a public policy matter,’ he said at a press conference. ‘But I think that the people that voted for me understand that a DA has to follow the law, whether they agree with it or not.’
…..[Mulroy] made the right decisions based on the facts and the law. Capital punishment is on the books in Tennessee. And the brazen crimes allegedly committed by Kelly and Henderson call for the stiffest punishment there is. And yet, there is a legitimate public policy debate to be had over the appropriateness of the death penalty.”
 Stay safe and thanks for reading,
Steve Mulroy
District Attorney
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