MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The suspect in a barricade situation in September has been identified as an inmate the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said committed suicide.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the inmate who died as 28-year-old Fabian Perez, who went by the name Martin Perez-Estrada.
He had been charged with attempted second-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, 10 counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and employing a firearm with the intention to commit a felony, according to the court affidavit.
He was in the Shelby County Jail on a $500,000 bond, and a public defender was assigned to the case on Sept. 22. However, on Oct. 4, The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed Perez-Estrada was found dead inside the jail from an apparent suicide. According to SCSO's statement, the inmate was found unresponsive Oct. 4 shortly after 4 a.m. at 201 Poplar. He was taken to Regional One Health and later pronounced dead.
In response to the inmate's death during a news conference Wednesday, Sheriff Floyd Bonner said mental health services needed to be expanded and that policies are always reviewed. Following the apparent suicide, policies will be reviewed again, he said.
The original incident
MPD responded to an armed party call on Sept. 19 just before 11:30 p.m. at Summer Hills Apartment Condos in the 6100 block of Ashton Road near Summer Avenue and Raleigh Lagrange Road. According to officers, one of two roommates of the male suspect said he came home from work and threatened them, pointing a gun at one of the roommates.
Both roommates managed to safely escape, one running out of the apartment and the other climbing out of a window and onto a roof. The suspect, who is Hispanic, barricaded himself in the apartment.
When officers arrived at the scene and knocked on the door of the suspect's home, the suspect fired shots from a weapon, according to MPD. One of the roommates was still inside the apartment when this occurred but soon escaped through the window.
Negotiators unsuccessfully tried to talk with the suspect for several hours. After tossing gas into the apartment, he fired more shots from a long gun at police, hurting one officer, who was taken to Regional One Health in non-critical condition. Officers did not fire back at the suspect.
Later, a bilingual negotiator talked with the suspect, successfully convincing him to surrender peacefully around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
MPD were assisted by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and the local FBI office throughout the barricade situation.
Early Wednesday morning, police asked parents living in the 6100 block of Ashton Road to not send their children to school and to just shelter in place for the time being. MPD said they were able to get everyone out of the apartment complex.
Around 2:30 a.m., MPD sent a notification stating that all lanes of traffic east bound on Summer Avenue, between Raleigh Lagrange Road and Trafalgar Road, were blocked due to the investigation. Shortly before 7:30 a.m., police expanded the perimeter of the barricade scene to the intersection of Summer Avenue and Elmore Road.
