A former Shelby County sheriff’s deputy who had been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl must serve probation but no prison time after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, authorities said. Brian O. Beck, 47, was charged in 2018 with two counts of rape by force or coercion and two counts of sexual battery … Read more
A Tennessee state representative was sworn in to temporarily replace a Democratic lawmaker who was ousted from her position by the Republican-led state Senate because of a federal wire fraud conviction. Democrat London Lamar took the oath of office during Monday’s Senate floor session. The Shelby County Commission in Memphis chose Lamar to fill the … Read more
A rifle-carrying man was wounded when he was shot by a police officer in eastern Arkansas, according to Arkansas State Police. Travon Brewer, 18, was shot in Helena-West Helena by a Jonesboro officer who was part of a multi-jurisdictional task force, state police said in a statement. Task force officers were searching for a wanted … Read more
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is requesting federal funding to help in ice storm debris removal. Lee visited Memphis on Thursday, discussing a range of topics, including crime. However, Lee said he’s asked President Biden to approve federal aid for seven counties impacted by the February ice storm. MLGW alone estimated the ice storm caused 12 … Read more
State Representative Landan Lamar has been appointed to fill the state senate seat that was vacated last month by Katrina Robinson. That’s the District 33 senate seat. A half dozen candidates were considered and Shelby County Commissioners held 8 different votes over more than three hours on Thursday. Robinson was ousted from her senate seat … Read more
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has proposed funding 20 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol officers for Shelby County to help fight crime in the Memphis area. In a news release Wednesday, Lee said his proposed budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year includes bolstering the highway patrol’s presence in Memphis, which has had problems with violent crime. The … Read more
Proposals to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the U.S. were in danger Tuesday as Mississippi legislators engaged in a political showdown. Hours before a big deadline, Senate committees voted to keep the issue alive. The battle appeared be about which chamber — the House or the Senate — would receive credit for … Read more
A Memphis-area woman sentenced to prison for illegally registering to vote while on probation will get a new trial on that charge. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Mark Ward on Friday granted a motion for the new trial for Pamela Moses, according to media reports. Moses, 44, was convicted in November of registering to vote … Read more
People needing a COVID-19 vaccination could get a couple of tickets to a Memphis Grizzlies game by taking the shot. The Shelby County Health Department is partnering with the Grizzlies to offer a pop-up vaccination event at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum adjacent to the FedEx Forum from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, the … Read more
Tennessee’s GOP-controlled House have advanced legislation banning Memphis from requiring police officers to live in the county they patrol. The proposal was initially introduced as a statewide ban. However, the bill was tweaked on the House floor Thursday to only apply to the state’s largest majority-Black city. The proposal must now clear the Senate. Supporters … Read more