Prosecutors Seeking Death Penalty For Man Who Fatally Shot Memphis Officer Last Year

Prosecutors are said to be seeking the death penalty in the fatal shooting involving a Memphis police officer last year.

In a report by Fox 13, the Shelby County district attorney's office filed on Monday a notice of their intent to seek the death penalty for the sentencing phase of the trial involving 30-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn. Wilbourn was noted to have shot Officer Sean Bolton eight times resulting to his death.

ABC News shared that Wilbourn was indicted just this January 28 on charges of first-degree murder, employing a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony, carjacking, and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. He is being held on a $10 million bond.

Accordingly, Bolton interrupted a drug deal involving Wilbourn back in August 1, 2015. Wilbourn was in a 2002 Mercedes Benz parked on a street in a residential Memphis neighborhood and the suspect exited the vehicle to confront Bolton. The two first got into a physical altercation before Wilbourn took out his gun and shot Bolton. An autopsy report said that the latter was shot by Wilbourn eight times.

After the killing, Wilbourn fled the scene then carjacked a motorist to escape. Prosecutors believed that Wilbourn was trying to evade police officials resulting to a two-day manhunt. He then later on turned himself in to U.S. marshals.

In a report by Commercial Appeal, the state has listed the aggravating factors that led to the decision that Wilbourn should be punished with death penalty. The factors include the victim being an on-duty police officer, Wilbourn having a felony conviction for a prior crime, a federal bank robbery back in 2005, and the killing being committed so as to avoid arrest. At the time of the shooting, Wilbourn was also on probation for the armed bank robbery as he was just released last July 2014 after serving a ten-year sentence for the aforementioned crime.

Bolton's killing marks the fourth Memphis officer to be fatally shot since July of 2011.

Wilbourn is due back in court this March 7.

Tags

prosecutors, Memphis officer, fatally shot, black man, ex-convict, Officer Sean Bolton, Tremaine Wilbourn, Death Penalty, Shooting

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