On a summer afternoon in Memphis, Tennessee, the life of 27-year-old Octavious LaShun Atkins was cut short by a burst of gunfire. The incident occurred on June 19, 2020, at the intersection of Shelby Drive and Neely Road in the southwest part of the city. Atkins was a passenger in one of two vehicles stopped at the intersection when a third vehicle, a white Mercedes SUV, pulled alongside. The driver of the SUV opened fire, striking Atkins multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another man, the 49-year-old driver of the third vehicle, was also struck by a bullet in the arm and was subsequently hospitalized.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting saw the shooter's white Mercedes SUV being discovered engulfed in flames behind a nearby building, but the driver was nowhere to be found. The investigation into the murder of Octavious Atkins led authorities to identify 19-year-old Anthony Green as the primary suspect. Through witness testimony and police work, Green was determined to be the individual behind the wheel of the Mercedes and the one who fired the fatal shots. This led to a warrant being issued for his arrest.
Several months later, on September 26, 2020, the search for Anthony Green came to an end. A Mississippi Highway Patrolman conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 10 near Gulfport, Mississippi, pulled over a vehicle in which Green was a passenger. He was taken into custody and extradited to Tennessee to face justice. A grand jury indicted Green on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
The legal process culminated in a trial where Anthony Green was convicted of the first-degree murder of Octavious LaShun Atkins. However, in a startling turn of events, a clerical error following the conviction led to Green being accidentally released from the Shelby County Jail. Just 38 minutes after a jury found him guilty, he walked out of the courthouse a free man. Authorities have since issued a new warrant for his arrest, and the man responsible for the death of Octavious Atkins is currently a fugitive. He will face a life sentence in prison once he is recaptured.
