MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman has pleaded guilty to one count in a shooting near the Uptown area that left another woman in critical condition in February 2024, according to court records.
Vernisha Liggins was originally charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and assault. A grand jury indicted her on one charge of reckless aggravated assault, and court records show she pleaded guilty to that charge on July 11. Court records also show Liggins was granted diversion as part of the plea, which is set to end in July 2026 as long as she stays out of trouble.
MPD officers responded to the shooting about 10:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at Danny Thomas and Alabama, just south of I-40. They said the woman who had been shot left the scene before officers got there and showed up at Regional One Hospital in a private vehicle, where she was listed in critical condition.
Investigators said the victim and suspect knew each other, and the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the two.
According to an affidavit, the victim told investigators that the two were having problems with each other because they were dating the same man. While they were arguing and then fighting at the intersection of Danny Thomas and Alabama, Liggins grabbed a gun from her car and shot the victim's right thigh, the victim said. Liggins then proceeded to kick the victim in the back of the head.
Liggins was positively identified in a six-person photographic lineup as the person responsible for the shooting and kicking, the affidavit said.
