MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Frustration lingers in East Memphis, after a shooting Saturday afternoon at a busy shopping center. The suspect, 18 year old Tyshaun Wear, is wanted for 35 criminal charges including attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault, but this is not the first time Wear has been involved in similar charges.
“Stop it, do something about this,” said Maggie Carpenter, she lives in the neighborhood near the Eastgate Shopping Center where the shooting took place, “Never had anything like this happen in this area or this neighborhood.”
Carpenter was tending to her front yard on Saturday when she heard what she first thought was showing off their car.
“And the next thing I know…It unloaded like an automatic, just bam bam bam,” said Carpenter.
Police arrested and charged Wear, who faced charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder in 2022. In September, authorities said Wear shot at a Doordash driver and stole their car.
Court records said Wear confessed to pulling the trigger, but the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office dismissed those charges in early March. The DA’s office said the victim did not show up to the court, despite repeated efforts by Victim Witness coordinators.
“lt’s not incompetence, it’s too many cases, too complicated of a job to do in a short amount of time,” said Josh Spickler with the criminal justice reform group Just City. Spickler adds victims may not testify for a variety of reasons, from scheduling conflict to the fear of any involvement with the legal system.
However the advocate says victim witness coordinators face the extra hurdle of establishing trust with a victim in a very short amount of time. This is part of the reason why Spickler is urging Shelby County leaders to reprioritize money at 201 Poplar.
“A third of our county budget goes to a facility to lock people up and get them to court, many of those 2,200 people don’t need to be locked up, that would free up a lot of resources for victims," said Spickler.
In a statement to ABC24, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said:
"Our Victim/Witness Unit coordinators are specially trained to assist victims by lessening the confusion of the criminal justice process. As soon as an arrest is made, victims are contacted by a coordinator to answer questions and offer referrals to victim service providers.
We have approximately 30 victim/witness coordinators who work diligently to ensure victims are informed and supported throughout the entire criminal justice process.
Being a victim or witness of a crime may mean appearing in court. This is an essential part of the process. If a victim or witness chooses not to testify, charges may have to be dropped due to a lack of evidence. Our coordinators work closely with victims throughout the process, encouraging their participation in court."
Wear was supposed to get arraigned on Mar. 28th, but the case was delayed until April 5th.