Neighbor charged with handgun possession in Memphis officer's fatal shooting
By Tim Ghianni
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - A neighbor was charged on Monday with felony possession of a handgun in the fatal shooting of a Memphis, Tennessee, police officer, prosecutors and local police said.
Lorenzo Clark, 36, was charged as a convicted felon in possession of the handgun, police spokesman Louis Brownlee said in a statement. Clark was a neighbor of officer Terence Olridge, 31, who was off-duty when he died on Sunday after being shot multiple times, police said.
Brownlee said other charges may be forthcoming.
Clark is being held on a $100,000 bond and will appear for a video arraignment on Tuesday morning, according to Vince Higgins, spokesman for the Shelby County district attorney's office.
In 2003, Clark pled guilty to reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a felony, according to a Shelby County, Tennessee court document.
Olridge was on his way to work on Sunday, when an encounter with Clark ended in an exchange of gunfire between the two, according to Brownlee. After the shooting, Olridge went back to his house and tried to get help, Brownlee said.
Olridge was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, police said.
Clark surrendered to police without incident at his home, Brownlee said. Clark admitted to having a Glock 9mm handgun in his pants, pulling it out in the street near his home and firing several shots resulting in Olridge's death, the court document said.
Memphis police said the investigation of the shooting is still ongoing.
Olridge had just marked his first anniversary with the department, was engaged to be married and was an expectant father, police said. His fiancée is four months pregnant.
The Commercial Appeal newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported that Olridge had been arguing with a neighbor, who then opened fire on him. Olridge was found in the driveway of his own home, the newspaper said.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Tim Ghianni in Nashville, Tennessee; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Bill Trott and Alan Crosby)
