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In a joint press conference on Tuesday, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Shelby County Sheriff Bonner announced the indictment of two Shelby County corrections officers for the assault of an inmate.
Corrections Officers Reginald Wilkins and Odell Underwood, were both on duty and acting in their official capacity at the time they assaulted the inmate, Damian Florez-Ramirez, causing bodily injury. Earlier that day, prior to the incident, Florez-Ramirez assaulted a deputy jailer unrelated to this case. He was then handcuffed and escorted to the medical clinic at the Jail. Florez-Ramirez later filed a complaint alleging he was assaulted by deputy jailers there in retaliation for his actions. Our indictment alleges that while Florez-Ramirez was handcuffed, Officers Wilkins and Underwood unjustifiably assaulted him, causing him bodily injury.
Both Wilkins and Underwood were originally suspended from duty with pay until their indictment. Those officers are now suspended without pay.
Happening in Court
Bond Revoked for Man Accused of Attacking MPD Officer
On Thursday, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office successfully advocated for the revocation of Marcus Johnson's bond, the man accused of strangling and biting off a piece of the ear of a Memphis Police officer during a traffic stop on November 14.
On the day of his arraignment, the DA’s Office filed a motion to revoke Johnson’s bond—who also had other felony drug charges that stemmed from a 2022 case. The Judge temporarily revoked the bond pending a hearing.
"When I saw how he had been a fugitive for about a year from a prior charge, I instructed our prosecutors to not only seek a high bond on the new charge, but to revoke bond outright. This defendant has already proved he can't be trusted. I'm glad the judge agreed," stated DA Steve Mulroy.
During today's court proceedings, the State presented a compelling case, urging the judge to revoke the defendant's bail on the 2022 case and increase the bond on the attempted murder charge involving the police officer from $75,000 to $500,000. The judge concurred with the State's argument, resulting in the complete revocation of Johnson's bond in the 2022 case and a substantial increase in bond for the new charges.
ADA Forrest Edwards was the lead prosecutor in this case.
McKinney Wright, charged with first degree murder of Phil Trenary, appeared in court to hear set motions for his case. This case, which began September 2018, has had significant litigation raised by the defense, including mental health and interrogation issues. The fatal incident took place in downtown Memphis. Wright's trial is set to begin next month.
ADA Jose Leon is handling this case.
Luis Arias, a man arrested after being found inside of a stolen vehicle, was in court for disposition this week. During an execution of a warrant on Arias' son, Arias and his partner arrived on scene in a Nissan Maxima which displayed an altered and untrue VIN. Memphis Police Auto Theft Task Force (ATTF) Investigators located the actual VIN associated to the vehicle which came back stolen from the Memphis International Airport. Arias will appear in court in January for a preliminary hearing.
ADA Dan Buchanan is handling this case.
D.A. Mulroy selected as Distinguished Guest at U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing to Discuss Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice System
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy was recently invited to share his expertise and insights as a panelist at a briefing hosted by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The briefing, scheduled for today, will focus on the critical issue of racial and ethnic disparities in violent crime victimization across the United States. The Commission paid to have D.A. Mulroy travel to Washington, DC for his testimony.
The event aims to foster a comprehensive dialogue that will inform the Commission's investigation and eventual report.
Staff from DA and Public Defender's Office Visit TN TDOC Prison
Tour attendees from both the District Attorney & Public Defender's Office
D.A. Mulroy and Criminal Court Judge David Pool toured the TDOC prison in Henning Tennessee last week. The tour also included several staff members from the DA’s and Public Defender’s offices. The group spent the whole day examining the facilities, classes, and other rehabilitative programs.
SCDAG attends American Society of Criminology Meeting
Pictured: SCDAG Database Analyst, Chris Ford, SCDAG Grants Coordinator Nelia Dempsey and Justice Innovation Lab Data Engineer, Kevin Himberger
Nelia Dempsey, Grants Coordinator, and Chris Ford, Database Analyst, attended the 78th American Society of Criminology annual meeting 2023 in Philadelphia, PA this week. Chris presented a poster with Justice Innovation Lab researcher Kevin Himberger titled Leveraging Technology and Data to Promote Criminal Justice Reform in Shelby County. Nelia Dempsey conferred with other grant specialists from around the country to learn about grant opportunities for DA offices.
The ASC convenes hundreds of the world’s leading criminologists and offers workshops and regular sessions. This year's theme was Seeking Justice: Reconciling with our Past, Reimagining the Future.
Chris Ford and Kevin Himberger speaking to attendees.
SCDAG's Office in the News
“He had been placed in handcuffs, had been treated with a chemical agent and was being taken to the medical facility inside the jail for treatment,” Mulroy said. “And at that location, we allege, without justification, the two officers assaulted Mr. Florez Ramirez.”
According to Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman, Florez Ramirez suffered from “non-life threatening injuries” to his face. The assault was not captured on video, Hagerman said."
Two jailers indicted in connection to inmate assault, via Daily Memphian
“We’re fast-tracking all violent cases, trying to get speedier dispositions. We’re working to make sure it is harder to dismiss non-fatal shooting cases. I mean, the list goes on and on. I mean, there’s a lot of things we’re doing right now, but at the end of the day, no one office is going to solve this problem,” said Mulroy."
'It's an organized thing': Law enforcement analyst, local leaders weigh in on Memphis crime after chaotic weekend, via WMC
"District Attorney Mulroy said the county administration recently provided for some significant pay raises for assistant public defenders.
“I think that may help with any problems they may have in recruitment or retention so that they can fill those vacancies and have the capacity to do those first-degree murder cases,” he said."
Shelby County Public Defender's Office asking state legislature for nearly $2.5 million to address staffing issues, via ABC24
Thanks for reading,
 Steve Mulroy
District Attorney
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