MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - An ex-convict accused of fatally shooting a Memphis police officer has been indicted on first-degree murder and other charges, prosecutors said Thursday.
Tremaine Wilbourn, 30, also is charged with carjacking, employing a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, the Shelby County district attorney’s office said.
Wilbourn is being in the Aug. 1 death of Officer Sean Bolton, with bond set at $10 million.
Police said when Bolton interrupted a drug deal in a 2002 Mercedes Benz, Wilbourn exited the car and confronted the officer, and they got into a physical struggle. Wilbourn took out a gun and shot Bolton, police said. An autopsy report shows Bolton was shot eight times.
Wilbourn fled the scene and carjacked a motorist as he got away, prosecutors said. He led officers on a two-day manhunt before turning himself in to U.S. marshals.
Wilbourn’s sister, Callie Watkins, has told The Associated Press that her brother was trying to defend himself from an aggressive officer who had him in a hold. One of Wilbourn’s public defenders, Kindle Nance, said in a September hearing that Wilbourn should have been charged with second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Bolton, who was white, was one of four Memphis officers to be fatally shot since July 2011. Wilbourn is black.
At the time of the shooting, Wilbourn was on probation for an armed bank robbery. Wilbourn was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison and released on probation in July 2014. He was ordered to undergo mental health treatment July 7, according to court documents. It’s not clear whether he was ever evaluated.
Wilbourn also faces federal charges of armed carjacking and felony possession of ammunition in Bolton’s shooting.
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