Uncategorized

It was about 20 minutes past 11 at night when Larry Vinson, a U.S. Postal Service driver was shot and killed during an apparent robbery outside the U.S. Postal Service Mail Annex then located at 3510 Winchester Road near the Memphis International Airport.

Although the homicide is 20 years old, leads continue to be developed. That is why up to $100,000 has been made available for information that can help solve this cold case by leading to an arrest and conviction.

The reward money was announced two years ago by representatives from the Western District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspector’s office, the Shelby County District Attorney General and the Memphis Police Department.

Calls about this case should be made to CrimeStoppers, 528-CASH (2274) or to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, (877) 876-2455.

Glenn Cofield left a community fundraising event at a private home on the evening of June 7, 2019 and was headed to his car on foot in the parking lot of a church at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Parkway East in midtown Memphis. Just before he reached his car door he was shot by one or more individuals.

Anyone with information — a description of a car or person, even a partial license plate number, or information heard about the crime later — could help solve this murder.

Marco M. (Mario) Gilmore was visiting in a friend’s home at 1018 Eldridge Avenue, between N. Decatur and Kney streets in north Memphis. It was 9:50 p.m. on a mild Saturday evening, April 21, 2012.

A knock brought Gilmore, 33, to the front door.

He opened it and saw two individuals standing on the porch on the other side of the storm door. The duo began firing shots through the glass. Bullets struck Gilmore. Although he was rushed to Regional One (then The Med) trauma center, he died soon after arrival.

It is possible that witnesses to this murder have yet to come forward a decade later. The Memphis Police Department’s Cold Case Unit has issued a plea that any witness or someone knowledgeable about the homicide step up to help solve this still-active case by contacting CrimeStoppers or cold case detectives.

Vallen Conner was sitting in her vehicle and talking to a friend outside her friend’s home about 11 p.m. on that date when a light brown or tan SUV (possibly a Chevrolet Trail Blazer) parked on the street a few houses away. The vehicle then drove past the friend’s house when one or more individuals inside the SUV began firing guns.

Vallen Conner was shot in the shoulder; her friend was shot in the foot. Vallen died from her injury within 15 minutes. The friend was taken to Regional One’s trauma center where she was treated and released.

Investigators now believe three suspects occupied the SUV. Two fired shots. Detectives need someone to come forward about this murder.

It was five minutes past midnight, Sunday, May 24, 2015, when Memphis Police Entertainment District officers responded to a shooting report on South Fourth Street near Dr. Martin Luther King Avenue. They soon found U.S. Army Sergeant Calvin Wilhite lying in the street and unresponsive. He had been shot and he died at the scene.

A vehicle involved was described as a light green or gray 4-door sedan, possibly a mid-2000s Dodge Stratus, Ford Taurus or similar model.

Officers learned the victim had been arguing with two men described as black males in their early to mid twenties. The one responsible for the shooting had a small-to-medium build, was wearing a white t-shirt and was sitting on the passenger door frame as the car moved down the street when he fired.

The vehicle then fled the scene.

It’s been nearly 10 years since Dennis Gilliam was found shot dead in bed in southeast Memphis. He had been shot twice in the head in a case his family considered an assassination.

After several months a man was arrested in the shooting, but was later freed for lack of evidence, although he was found guilty of aggravated assault. The shooting occurred on Forsyth Drive.

Investigators have kept the case open in the hope someone will come forward with information that can lead to a murder prosecution.

Thirteen-year-old Demonte was visiting family that day and walking on Looney Avenue near Leath Street in north Memphis when he was shot and killed. He was rushed to Regional One Hospital where he later died.

Memphis Police Department detectives have few leads and have requested the public’s help. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has approved the Shelby County District Attorney General’s request for a $15,000 award for anyone providing information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. The amount would be in addition to a $1,000 award offered by CrimeStoppers for any information that simply leads to an arrest.

This 67-year-old grandmother was killed when a dozen or more shots were fired into her home that spring evening. Bullets rained through the walls and windows of her south Memphis home.

She was taken to Regional One by paramedics but she died of multiple bullets that entered her back.

Investigators are asking anyone who saw something on Norfolk Street that night to step forward and help. Even the smallest detail could be important.

It was around noon on Thanksgiving Day in 2017 when Memphis police officers responded to a shooting report at a house on Cochese Road, south of American Way in Memphis.

Inside the house they found the 68-year-old Wong, an Air Force veteran. He had been shot and was pronounced dead by responding paramedics. His family returned from a restaurant to find him. There had been an apparent home invasion and the family vehicle, a Honda Odyssey, was stolen. It was found abandoned the next day. No other clues were left behind.