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Sherra Wright, ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright, arrested in California

Sherra Wright, the ex-wife of murdered basketball star Lorenzen Wright, has been arrested in Riverside, California, in connection with the former Grizzlies play...

Sherra Wright

Sherra Wright, the ex-wife of murdered basketball star Lorenzen Wright, has been arrested in Riverside, California, in connection with the former Grizzlies player’s death.

Wright has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder.

During a news conference Saturday morning, officials confirmed the attempted first-degree murder charge is about a previous attempt to kill Lorenzen Wright. They said Wright and Billy Turner tried to kill the former professional athlete, but did not elaborate when that attempt was made.

Wright was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on a fugitive warrant Friday and is in custody in the Riverside County Jail. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said there is no timeline as to when Wright would be extradited to Shelby County.

The man also charged with Wright’s murder pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday. 46-year-old Billy Turner is charged with first degree murder in the 2010 shooting death of Wright.

Turner’s arrest last week came more than seven years after the discovery of Wright’s body in southeast Memphis.

According to Major Darren Goods, Operations Team Commander of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit (MGU), several MGU members approached him in late May, early June of 2016 with information on Lorenzen Wright.

“We wanted to investigate as though it had just happened, so that’s what we did. We followed the evidence. We actually went to the crime scene, and we walked in Lorenzen’s final steps,” said Maj. Goods.

Goods said they met with Collierville Police who offered critical background information they were not aware of previously.

Investigators said evidence led them back to a lake in Walnut, Mississippi. There, the FBI recovered a gun, that was verified by TBI as one of the murder weapons.

The case was dubbed “Operation Rebound.”

“Operation Rebound was what we thought the perfect title for this case because in basketball when you get a rebound that gives you a second chance. That gives you another chance to score a basket, that gives you an opportunity to win the case, win the game. And that’s what we were thinking when we coined this case Operation Rebound. This will give us a second chance to bring some closure to this case and give this grieving family some relief,” said Goods.

Authorities did not elaborate on the relationship between Sherra Wright and Billy Turner. Local Memphis has previously confirmed the two attended the same church in Collierville.

Deborah Marion, Lorenzen Wright’s mother, brought fireworks to her son’s grave Saturday.

“I’m feeling happy and sad. I’m happy because we got it all wrapped up, but I’m feeling sad for my grandkids because this is a really bad time. They gotta face what’s going on. They gotta face what happened to their dad. Now their mother’s going to be gone, so they not gonna win. It’s all about my grandkids. They don’t win either way,” said Marion.

On July 18, 2010, Lorenzen Wright made a 911 call when it was interrupted by gunshots. His body was found July 28, 2010 in a remote field in southeast Memphis. An autopsy revealed two different guns were used to kill Wright.

(SHELBY COUNTY D.A. NEWS RELEASE)

The former wife of Lorenzen Wright has been named in a three-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with a Collierville man to kill the former Memphis basketball star in 2010, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said Saturday.

Sherra Wright, 46, and previously indicted Billy R. Turner, also 46, were indicted by a Shelby County Grand Jury on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

Wright, who lives in Murrieta, Calif., was arrested Friday night by federal marshals on a fugitive warrant and is in custody in the Riverside County (Calif.) Jail pending extradition proceedings.

Turner, who was indicted Dec. 5 on first-degree murder charges, remains in the Shelby County Jail on $1 million bond on the new superseding indictment returned Tuesday.

The announcement was made at a news conference this morning in the office of Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings.

Lorenzen Wright was last seen alive on July 18, 2010, when he left the Collierville home of Sherra Wright. Early the following morning Germantown Police received a 911 call from his cell phone, but the call was interrupted by gunfire.

Wright’s body was discovered July 28, 2010, in a field by Callis Cutoff Road near Hacks Cross and Winchester. He had been shot multiple times. According to the indictment, Wright was killed sometime between July 17 and July 20 that year. He was 34.

On Nov. 9 this year, authorities announced that they hadlocated the murder weapon in a lake near Walnut, Miss.

The indictment returned Tuesday alleges that Sherra Wright and Turner:

– (Count 1) between July 17, 2010, and July 20, 2010, unlawfully, intentionally and with premeditation killed Lorenzen Wright;

– (Count 2) between April 1, 2010, and July 30, 2010, unlawfully and intentionally agreed, conspired and acted to kill Lorenzen Wright with premeditation, and that Sherra Wright and Turner, in furtherance of the conspiracy, travelled to the area of Callis Cut and Hacks Cross Road to kill Lorenzen Wright;

– (Count 3) between April 1, 2010, and July 17, 2010, attempted to unlawfully, intentionally and with premeditation kill Lorenzen Wright, acquired firearms to commit the act, recruited an unindicted co-conspirator to help them and, on the part of Turner, travelled to Lorenzen Wright’s home outside of Atlanta to commit the offense. While the offense was committed in part in other jurisdictions, it began in Shelby County, Tenn.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Paul Hagerman of the DA’s Multi-Agency Gang Prosecution Unit (MGU), and Asst. Dist. Atty. Colin Campbell, also of the MGU that prosecutes homicide cases and other violent crimes associated with gang activity, specific targeted gang members or special cases assigned by the District Attorney General.