In the early morning hours of November 9, 2021, a disagreement in the Frayser neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee, turned fatal, ending the life of 42-year-old Richard Varnadoe. A White male, Varnadoe had arrived at a residence on Winston Drive to meet an employee. Already at the location was a neighbor, Edwin Lorenzo Bailey, who was attempting to sell a sawed-off shotgun.
A discussion began regarding the proper way to load the firearm, during which Varnadoe suggested that Bailey was
handling the weapon incorrectly. As Varnadoe's employee turned to walk away, he heard a shotgun blast. When he looked back, he saw Varnadoe fall to the ground. Bailey reportedly fled the scene momentarily before returning to shoot Varnadoe a second time. Paramedics arrived to find Varnadoe with gunshot wounds to his face and chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the incident, Edwin Bailey fled Memphis. Ten days later, on November 19, 2021, U.S. Marshals apprehended him in Detroit, Michigan. Bailey, who was 22 years old at the time, was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony. He was extradited back to Tennessee and held without bond in the Shelby County Jail. In May 2022, a grand jury indicted Bailey on these charges.
