The 901: Teen charged with murder in death of Whitehaven pastor in daytime carjacking

Good mid-morning, Memphis, where we're mourning the loss of a beloved pastor who was killed in a Monday afternoon carjacking outside her Whitehaven home. 

One teenager has been charged with first-degree murder and another with theft of property in relation to a carjacking in Whitehaven that left a United Methodist Church pastor and regional leader dead, our Daniel Connolly reports.

Memphis Police said a 15-year old boy is charged with first-degree murder, murder in the perpetration of a robbery, especially aggravated robbery, carjacking, and employment of a firearm during a dangerous felony.

The 15-year-old was arrested Tuesday, along with a 16-year-old, who faces a charge of theft of property valued between $2,500-$10,000.

The arrests stem from the death Monday of the Rev. Autura Eason-Williams, a well-known local pastor and regional leader in the United Methodist Church. Eason-Williams was shot and killed in Whitehaven on Monday in what police believe was a carjacking, Daniel wrote.

MBI investigates officer-involved shooting in Horn Lake

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate an officer-involved shooting in Horn Lake, our Gina Butkovich reports.

The shooting was reported early this morning on Goodman Road in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Action News 5 reported that the person was killed early Wednesday morning.

According to WMC-TV, Horn Lake police tried to pull over the driver of a Jeep Cherokee on Hwy 302 near Mallard Creek around 1:30 a.m. and used “stop sticks” to attempt to flatten the vehicle’s tires. The driver then kept going with four flat tires, and officers were eventually able to stop the vehicle using what they call a “Tactical Vehicle Intervention” maneuver on Goodman Road between I-55 and U.S. 51.

Rep. Torrey Harris released after arrest

State Rep. Torrey Harris of Memphis has been released from jail in Nashville after being arrested over the weekend on suspicion of felony theft and misdemeanor assault.

An affidavit said Harris and his ex-boyfriend had a dispute about their relationship at the boyfriend's Nashville apartment Sunday evening, our Samuel Hardiman and Melissa Brown report.

The ex-boyfriend, whom USA Today Network-Tennessee is not naming, attempted to leave the apartment and Harris blocked him from leaving. The ex-boyfriend received a scratch, according to the affidavit.

Can Dr. Joris Ray remain effective schools leader after allegations?

The plight of Memphis-Shelby County Schools' students is more important than the fate of Superintendent Joris Ray, Tonyaa Weathersbee writes in this column for subscribers.

Here's an excerpt from Tonyaa's column:

If anything wrecks education for students in Memphis and Shelby County schools, it’s distractions.

Distractions – like the poverty that nearly 60 percent of them struggle to navigate. It’s the kind that forces many of them to worry whether they’ll have to use a flashlight to do homework because the lights may be off at home.

Distractions – like the violence and trauma that leave many of them worrying whether they’ll wind up on someone’s memorial T-shirt before wearing a graduation robe.

Distractions – like the COVID-19 pandemic that forced them to learn remotely because they couldn’t risk losing their lives or their health, or the lives or health of others in their home, by attending school in-person.

It led to only 1 in 10 Memphis students in grades third through 12 performing at grade level on math and English statewide tests last year.

So, the last thing students in the district need to be led by someone plagued by distractions of his own.

That person is Superintendent Joris Ray.

Meet the cybertrap queen of Memphis rap

A giggle bounces off the graffitied skate ramps at Al Town D.I.Y. Skate Park near South Memphis, filling the empty park with bubbling energy.

The skate park, built by and for the Memphis skate community, is wholly decorated with washes of layered spray paint pieces.

The colorful chaos is what makes the spot a favorite for Takyla Burnett, the 22-year-old Oakhaven native making waves in the Memphis music scene as Staysie Atoms, our Astrid Kayembe reports. 

"It's random as hell, like my brain: it's just stuff everywhere," she said about the park.

What's next for Memphis in conference realignment derby?

College football botched the playoff, and that has left Memphis in conference realignment mess. What does that potentially mean for Memphis, asks Mark Giannotto in his latest column.

Here's an excerpt from Mark's column:

There’s a scenario in which all the greed and all the potential chaos of this latest incarnation of conference realignment don’t matter as much for schools like Memphis. Or at least there would be a path far more palatable than the one college sports is barreling down much to the dismay of those who most care about college sports.

The tradition being discarded, and the competitive disadvantages being exacerbated, could have been easier to stomach. A solution was right there in front of us about a year ago, right before the SEC poached Texas and Oklahoma and sent schools dithering in every direction seeking shelter in whatever league wasn’t going to be the one left behind.    

The power brokers of modern college football actually did something right before they inflicted all this wrong, and the absurd notion that a different set of power brokers then elected to completely ignore all that right to inflict all this wrong – and harm their own interests by doing so – isn’t getting enough attention. 

Mark Russell is executive editor of The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at mark.russell@commercialappeal.com or 901/288-4509. You can also follow him on Twitter: @MarkRussell44

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The 901: Whitehaven pastor carjacking shooting death, Memphis youth crime