In the spring of 2021, the life of 17-year-old Omyus Ashun Brown, a Black male, was cut tragically short on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. On the evening of April 5th, Brown was found shot to death in the Frayser neighborhood, near the intersection of Delano Avenue and Steele Street. He was a junior at Booker T. Washington High School. The circumstances leading to his death began to unfold when he, along with three other teenagers, were in a stolen truck in the parking lot of an apartment
complex on Madison Avenue.
The group was reportedly in the process of breaking into a Dodge Charger when the vehicle's alleged owner, 25-year-old Cameran Leatherwood, began firing at them from a second-floor apartment. As the teenagers fled in the truck, several shots hit the vehicle. One of the bullets shattered a rear window and struck Omyus Brown in the head. The 15-year-old driver of the truck later told investigators that he didn't realize Brown had been shot until about 25 minutes later, at which point he sought help from a relative. Paramedics who first responded to the scene found Brown on the back seat floorboard, where he was pronounced dead.
In the wake of the shooting, law enforcement identified Cameran Leatherwood as the suspect. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was subsequently taken into custody without incident by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Shelby County Fugitive Apprehension Team. Initially facing a charge of first-degree murder, a grand jury later indicted Leatherwood on charges of voluntary manslaughter and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. Court records indicated that a 2015 conviction for aggravated assault and attempted robbery prohibited him from legally owning a firearm. Following the indictment, Leatherwood was held in the Shelby County Jail as the legal proceedings against him commenced.
