Carjacked victim speaks out after being targeted during crime spree
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Victims of a crime spree are left with their lives forever changed by the violence that spread throughout Memphis on Sunday.
Citywide manhunt ends, crime spree suspect in custody: MPD
Police say Courdarion Craft shot and carjacked multiple people, which led to an hours-long manhunt, and a citywide phone message alert to be sent out before he was finally arrested in Whitehaven.
Surveillance video shows a man police say is Courdarion Craft get out of a blue Nissan, pacing with a gun outside of a shopping center off East Shelby Drive.
This is where Memphis Police say he robbed a smoke and vape shop, stole a long gun, and killed 18-year-old Fares Shihab.
The car seen in the video belongs to a mother who says she heard the deadly encounter.
Sunday morning, she was sitting in her car, in a church parking lot with her two children.
“And he put a gun to my head and he told me to give him my car or he was going to kill me,” she said. “He told me if I called the police on him that he was going to kill me.”
But this quick-thinking mother already had 911 on the line when she saw him acting suspiciously in the parking lot.
“But I just put my phone in my jacket so he wouldn’t see me on the phone to try and save me and my kids’ life,” she said. “I mean it’s getting scary out here, it’s sad. People can’t even go to church and try to do positive things.”
She says she was targeted just minutes before police say Shihab was killed, less than half a mile away.
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“Next thing I know within two or three minutes I heard gunshots,” she said.
Police say Craft’s crime spree continued to southeast Memphis. A police report says he shot three people along with a dog and robbed a hair-styling business.
A relative of a 21-year-old victim, in that case, says she’s now recovering after surgery. They don’t know why she would be targeted but believe Craft might’ve been casing the place.
But while Craft is being held in jail, no bond has been set.
According to a document WREG uncovered, MPD detectives recommend Craft’s bond be set at one billion dollars.
Some say the bail system is broken. Here’s what we found
The carjacking victim says she is now concerned about being targeted after her car is released from police evidence.
“Work for what you want. I mean that’s not fair for people who work hard, there are a lot of people who go to work and work 10/12 hours a day,” she said. “People have family that actually care about them. How would you feel if somebody did this to your sister or your mother of any of your siblings? That’s what I wanna know.”
So far records show Craft has not been officially charged with the shooting on Commerce Circle but a police report names him as a suspect.
The carjacked mom created a GoFundMe for assistance with getting a new car. It can be found here.
Last year in November, records say Craft shot a man when he went to buy some shoes. It also says that Craft is a documented gang member.
That following month Craft bailed out of jail on a $100,000 bond.
In this most recent arrest, homicide detectives wrote in their bond recommendation paperwork that Craft was motivated by “greed”.
Today the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said it recommended Craft’s bond be revoked, which a judge accepted, ensuring he remains in jail.
However, the office also noted that the office does not set bonds. That responsibility lies with judicial commissioners and judges.
Craft is set to appear in court on Tuesday morning.
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