Woman says suspect in MPD’s officer got ‘slap on the wrist’ after stealing her vehicle
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman who claims her vehicle was stolen by an 18-year-old who police say was involved in the shootout that killed a Memphis Police officer says the officer’s death could’ve been prevented.
Memphis Police officer and suspect dead after shootout; multiple officers injured
At 2 a.m. Friday, 26-year-old MPD Officer Joseph McKinney and two other officers were shot after they responded to reports of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Hewlett Road and Horn Lake Road. McKinney died of his injuries.
Eighteen Jaylen Lobley and a 17-year-old were named as the suspects involved in the deadly shootout. Lobley was also killed in the incident.
Lobley had previously been arrested on March 5 after police responded to his Whitehaven home for reports of a suspicious vehicle. When they arrived, they found Lobley asleep inside a white Infiniti with a broken window.
Lobley allegedly had a gun equipped with a Glock switch. A second stolen vehicle, a red Dodge Charger, was also on the property.
Suspect dead after shootout with police had been arrested, released in March, records show
A woman who spoke to WREG anonymously says she was a victim of the same alleged suspect.
“My reaction was that he’s going to do it again,” she said. “And he may not be so lucky the next time.”
According to court documents, when Lobley was arrested in March, Memphis Police requested bond to be set at $150,000. The judge set it at $10,000 instead.
Two days later, Commissioner Chris Ingram lowered his bond, and released Lobley on his own recognizance, with a curfew from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m.
“If he was held accountable for what he did when he stole my vehicle, maybe we could have prevented this tragedy from happening. We could have potentially saved two lives,” the woman told WREG.
Officials honor Memphis Police officer killed in shootout
In a statement, District Attorney Steve Mulroy said his office, “strongly argued against lowering the bond, citing the defendant’s danger to the community.”
“I don’t know what that young man was going through, I really don’t,” the woman said. “He must have been going through something to commit such crimes. So I don’t know what he was going through, I just pray for his family and the officer’s family as well.”
WREG reached out to Ingram for comment about his decision to release Lobley, but he has not yet responded.
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