The 15-year-old charged with killing a beloved watermelon vendor in May faced a judge Tuesday, June 13, 2023, and could end up facing charges as an adult.
The teen faces several charges in the death of 76-year-old John Materna, including first degree murder, first degree murder in perpetration of a felony to wit: robbery, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He also faces more charges that date back to Nov. 9, 2022, which include carjacking, car theft, vandalism, and more.
We learned in court Tuesday that the 15-year-old’s family hired private attorney Brandon Hall.
The state has filed a notice of intent to seek a transfer for the 15-year-old to be tried as an adult, but that decision hasn’t been made or approved. The judge also ordered a psychological evaluation.
A witness told investigators he and Materna were leaning up against Materna’s truck about 9:45 a.m. on May 15, 2023, when a silver four-door car pulled up to the four-way-stop at Homer and Wayne. He said two people got out of the car and started coming up to them. That's when he said Materna pulled out a gun, but not before police said the 15-year-old shot him first, then robbed him.
The two suspects fled heading northbound on Homer. Police said a witness took a picture of the suspect’s vehicle, a silver Infiniti with a paper tag with the word 'RETIRED' on it. A couple days after the shooting, Memphis Police released surveillance pictures from a separate robbery, showing a suspect vehicle that matched the description of the Infiniti from the shooting scene. MPD said that other robbery happened in the 800 block of Berclair Rd. about 10 minutes before Materna was shot.
Materna died two weeks later at the hospital. The 15-year-old was arrested as a suspect in the shooting on Monday, May 29.
MPD is also looking for the second suspect involved in the robbery.
The 15-year-old is expected to be in court on July 3, 2023.