A man testified Tuesday that he saw an acquaintance shoot his friend and business partner, unprovoked, outside his Tennessee home in a killing that authorities said sparked a daylong crime rampage that paralyzed Memphis and led to an intense manhunt.
Marcus Cash was one of four people at a gathering at his house who testified at a preliminary hearing for 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly, who has been charged with killing three people and wounding three others on Sept. 7 as he drove around Memphis, livestreaming some of his activities on social media.
The shootings shut down much of the city. As police searched for the gunman, the minor-league Memphis Redbirds cleared the field during a game and public transportation was halted. Friends and relatives texted each other to make sure they were OK.
Kelly was arrested after he crashed during a police chase that night. He initially was charged only with first-degree murder in the slaying of Dewayne Tunstall at about 1 a.m. outside Cash’s home in east Memphis. Tuesday’s preliminary hearing was related only to that count.