On a summer night in Memphis, Tennessee, the life of 23-year-old Markedis Briars was tragically cut short. In the early hours of July 28, 2018, shots rang out in the 3100 block of Autumnwood Avenue in the Hickory Hill neighborhood. When the sound of gunfire faded, Briars was left with a life-threatening wound. Officers from the Memphis Police Department arrived at the scene to find the young man gravely injured. He was quickly transported to Regional One Hospital, but despite the efforts of medical staff, Markedis Briars, a Black male, died from his injuries.
The investigation into the homicide moved swiftly. Within days, investigators had identified a person of interest and began their search. The trail led them to 18-year-old Martavious Baugh. On August 2, 2018, just five days after the fatal shooting, members of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force located and apprehended Baugh. His arrest brought a sense of progress in a case that had ended a young life so violently.
Following his capture, Martavious Baugh was officially charged with the first-degree murder of Markedis Briars. The community was left to grapple with the loss of another young man to gun violence, while the legal process began to unfold. Information regarding a motive for the shooting, the evidence presented in court, or the final outcome of the trial and any subsequent sentencing for Martavious Baugh has not been publicly detailed, leaving the full story of the events that transpired and the ultimate quest for justice for Markedis Briars known only to those directly involved in the case.
