‘Mobile mass shooter’ wants statements restricted
Kelly, facing the death penalty, says DA’s comments could influence jurors
By Ralph Hardin
donaldfwilburn@gmail.com
Seven months ago a gunman on the move held communities in three states in a grip of terror as he made his way through a shooting rampage that left three people dead — including a West Memphis mother — and several others injured. Now, facing a slate of 28 charges, Ezekiel Kelly, 19, contends, through his legal team, that statements made by officials close to the case could prevent him from receiving a fair trial.
Last Thursday, the public defender representing the accused “mobile mass shooter” filed a motion for the 'restriction of extrajudicial statements.'
Kelly’s shooting spree that put Memphis, as well as neighboring Crittenden County and Desoto County, Mississippi in an hourslong lockdown last September.
The charges he is facing include three counts of first-degree murder. The motion contends statements made by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy at a news conference last month pose a 'substantial likelihood of prejudicing a fair trial.' During that news conference, Mulroy said his office would pursue the death penalty, and added that Kelly's case was “not a close case.”
Officials say Kelly started his shooting spree in the early hours of the day on Sept. 7, 2022, when he is alleged to have shot and killed Dewayne Tunstall, a Memphis resident, before allegedly killing Richard Clark, a 62-year-old who police say was shot as he sat in his car outside a gas station, and Allison Parker, a nurse from West Memphis who worked in a local doctor’s office.
Mulroy said four factors affected the decision to pursue the death penalty.
• A previous aggravated assault conviction
• Kelly committing 'mass murder' during the spree.
• The murders were 'committed in the course of an act of terrorism'
• The “randomness” of the shootings and indiscriminate violent nature of the shootings Kelly had previously been charged with attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment in 2020 but entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years in prison, starting April 2021, but was released March 16, 2022.
Mulroy said. 'This is a case where the facts and circumstances, in my view, compel a particular result.'
According to a reports last month, a plea deal is not off the table for Kelly, though, Mulroy said, adding his office may consider one 'later down the road, as the case progresses.'
Just City, a nonprofit with goals of reforming aspects of the criminal justice system that have left groups disenfranchised, issued a press release condemning the move following the death penalty announcement.
'Just City does not support the Shelby County District Attorney's decision to pursue the death penalty,' the press release read.
'Seeking the death penalty means embarking on a complex, decades-long effort to take yet another life.'
Just City and Mulroy have voiced similar opinions in terms of reforming the Shelby County criminal justice system. In its press release, the nonprofit urged the DA to “consider other sentences,” citing previously botched executions performed in Tennessee, as found in a report commissioned by Tennessee Gov.
Bill Lee, which was released publicly in December 2022.
'Modern application of the death penalty by lethal injection is largely experimental and often does not go as planned,' Just City's press release said. 'The report found that protocols for the acquisition and administration of the lethal drugs used in the process were routinely ignored, creating the possibility for botched or failed executions. The District Attorney should consider other sentences that are more humane, effective and responsive to victims, their families and public safety.'
A Day of Fear and Violence
The Memphis Police Department launched its city-wide search for Kelly after a 'concerned citizen' called the department at 6:12 p.m. to report Kelly's activity on Facebook Live.
Kelly is said to have been livestreaming as he shot a man inside a store.
An alert from MPD was issued around 7 p.m., advising people to stay indoors while they searched for the suspected shooter.
In total, the alleged spree took place over 20 hours and crossed state lines.
Kelly was said to have driven multiple cars, including two that were stolen.
In addition to the long list of charges in Shelby County, Kelly also faces an indictment in Southaven, Mississippi, where he is
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accused of stealing a car prior to his arrest. He is accused of stealing a car in Memphis and then the car in Southaven just before 9 p.m.
Minutes later, police said a high-speed chase took place and Kelly was arrested in Whitehaven 30 minutes later. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he is facing in the incident.
The next court hearing for Kelly is set for June.
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