Two tipsters ID and locate

suspect in gas station murder

A call came to the Memphis Police Department at 9:42 a.m. August 18, 2023 from a BP gas station at 583 South Parkway East. Shots fired. Man down.

Police arrived to find Tomanuel Benson suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Paramedics arriving from the Memphis Fire Department pronounced Benson dead. He had been seen arguing with someone just before the shooting. Another victim who was shot had been taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. That person would live.

Later that day CrimeStoppers received a call on the 528-CASH tips line. The person said that a Randy Williams was responsible for the shooting and told where the suspect’s car could be located. A few hours later, the same tipster called to correct the name to Randy Ewing.

Using the tipster’s information, Ewing later was positively identified in a six-person lineup and was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder, as well as using a deadly weapon in commission of a felony.

Police now were on the lookout for Ewing.

Another tip came to CrimeStoppers in February of this year. The person provided a location where fugitive Ewing could be found. He was arrested as a result and jailed with a $1 million bond to await trial.

Two tips led to the identity and then the arrest of this murder suspect. Two awards of $4,000 and $500 apiece were made by the CrimeStoppers Citizen Awards Committee.

New phone scam scares

people into ‘paying fines’

Federal law enforcement agencies are warning the public about a new telephone scam in which fraudsters use government phone numbers and employees’ name to demand bitcoin payments.

The FBI and the U.S. Marshal’s Service put out the alert nationwide. Individuals claim to be U.S. marshals or court officers. They attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for so-called small offenses such as failing to report for jury duty. Many call recipients, scared, comply by purchasing a prepaid debit card.

CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County has received complaints showing that the scam has hit Memphis.

What to do: report any calls such as this to your local FBI office, and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which can detect patterns of fraud and charge individuals.

Memphis Crime Beat starts

a local court watch effort

A new not-for-profit organization has joined local efforts to fight crime and improve the justice system. We at CrimeStoppers welcome them and present the following about their mission and purpose. – Editor

Are you concerned about crime in Memphis? Norman Blake and I are too which is why we started Memphis Crime Beat. Our 501C3 is a non-partisan organization that seeks to reduce crime in Memphis. One of the areas we have identified as needing attention is Memphis’ judicial system. 

We can all agree that an effective judicial system is a key component in reducing crime. We also know that many of the people involved in the court system are our elected leaders. We, the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County are their bosses. And yet, many of us don’t know how well our elected leaders are doing their jobs. 

Hence, we decided the best approach to figuring out what is going on is to get eyes and ears in the courtroom. As a result, Memphis Crime Beat’s Court Watch program was born.

The goals of Court Watch are as follows:

1. Provide citizens with information about how well their elected leaders are doing their jobs

2. Identify problems, bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the system and call attention to them so that they can be resolved

3. Encourage volunteerism and increase citizens' participation in the solutions to crime

We started the program January 8^th 2023. We currently have about 10 volunteers and we are covering the state courts. However, we need help to expand and sustain the Court Watch program. We would like to expand our efforts into the bail hearing room and the General Sessions Court. With 60 volunteers we can do all this with a reasonable commitment of volunteering about 2 days a month.

The first step to volunteering is emailing us at memphiscrimebeat@gmail.com. 

When you email Memphis Crime Beat you will be scheduled for a training day. Training, and your volunteer shifts, start at 9 am and typically end around 1 pm unless you would like to stay for a trial. After your training you will feel confident going to court and know how to complete the feedback form that we’ve developed. Then, you can start attending court on your own. If you like, you can train with a friend and go to court together!

We believe strongly that citizen involvement is the key to effective, productive, and happy communities. We have problems that can be resolved, but citizens have got to get involved and work together to solve them! Please consider joining our efforts, you won’t regret it!

Leslie Taylor, Executive Director Memphis Crime Beat