An accused shooter who allegedly hunted down and “ambushed” his victim in Memphis, Tennessee, has been set free without bail — despite the local district attorney asking the court to keep him behind bars.
Tyreese Earnest, 18, was charged with attempted second-degree murder last month after he and two conspirators allegedly waylaid a FedEx employee in the parking lot of a distribution center, where Earnest shot him, cops said according to WREG Memphis.
Earnest had been booked with a $200,000 bond, but last week a judge ruled that the accused shooter would be released on his own recognizance with no bail at all.
Now, justice for the victim depends on whether or not his would-be killer shows up for his court date.
The local prosecutor is fuming.
“The details of the alleged crime, the fact that the victim was ambushed, and the violent nature of it convinces us that this suspect is a threat to public safety,” Steve Mulroy, district attorney for Shelby County, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Earnest’s accused conspirators, twin brothers Ja’Marcus Odell and Ja’Marion Odell, are still in jail with $80,000 bonds, according to WREG.
Ja’Marion Odell admitted to driving Earnest and his brother to the scene of the crime, and the pair have been charged with criminal attempt facilitation, which is a class A felony.
One politician, State Senator Brent Taylor, blasted the DA and his staff for not doing more to keep the accused gunman in the clink.
“The [assistant district attorney] in this case was as weak as a kitten’s meow,” Taylor posted on X. “The ADA would have been just as effective sitting in the audience watching the proceeding as a spectator.”