In the late hours of a November night in Memphis, Tennessee, a heated argument shattered the calm of the Hickory Hill neighborhood, leaving a young man's life cut tragically short. Pierre Cheers, a 24-year-old African American male, was fatally shot on November 24, 2017, inside an apartment complex on Stone Ridge near Riverdale. The dispute, which involved Cheers, his girlfriend, and another man, escalated with sudden and irreversible violence.
Responding to the scene, police found
Cheers on the floor with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the location. Witnesses recounted that an argument between Cheers, his girlfriend, and 21-year-old Justin Mays had preceded the fatal shot. According to reports, Mays allegedly shot Cheers during the altercation. In the immediate aftermath, Cheers' girlfriend was described as hysterical, telling the emergency operator that Mays had shot her boyfriend. A neighbor reported hearing faint arguing followed by a single gunshot.
Justin Mays was arrested at the scene without any attempt to flee and was subsequently charged with murder in perpetration of a felony and aggravated kidnapping. The kidnapping charge was related to allegations that Mays had kidnapped Cheers' girlfriend prior to the shooting. The case against Mays proceeded through the legal system, with witness testimony and evidence presented to establish the events that transpired on that fatal night.
