In the small city of Martin, Tennessee, a Saturday afternoon turned tragic, leaving one man dead and another facing a murder charge. Terry Wilson Jr., a 39-year-old Black male, was fatally shot on April 22, 2023. The incident unfolded at approximately 5:17 p.m. at the Haircuts R Us Family Barber Shop, located at 406 North Lindell Street.
Responding to a disturbance call, Martin Police Department officers arrived to find a grim scene.
Wilson's body was discovered behind the neighboring Carl Perkins Center office building, where he had moved after being shot. He had sustained a single gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at the scene. An autopsy was later ordered. The initial investigation pointed to an altercation that had occurred inside the barber shop owned by 44-year-old Mantaring Okie Woolridge.
According to Woolridge's account to the police, Wilson had entered his shop, was beating on a trash can, and throwing trash around. Woolridge claimed that he felt Wilson was attempting to cause him bodily harm and that he discharged his firearm in an act of self-defense. However, the investigation by the Martin Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division revealed that Wilson was unarmed at the time of the incident. It was reportedly Woolridge who made the 911 call following the shooting.
Three days after the fatal shooting, on April 25, 2023, Mantaring Okie Woolridge was taken into custody by the Martin Police Department. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder in connection with Terry Wilson Jr.'s death. Woolridge was arraigned in Weakley County General Sessions Court, where his bond was set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May of 2023 to determine if there was sufficient evidence to present the case to the Weakley County Grand Jury.
