Following an unsuccessful attempt to hide from investigators in an attic space that resulted in him falling through the ceiling, a Memphis murder suspect was placed under arrest. On Monday, August 26, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) announced that Deario Wilkerson, 20, had been arrested for Troy Cunningham’s shooting death on April 2, 2024.
Details of the Incident and Suspect’s Arrest
In Memphis, Tennessee, on the 1500 block of N. Merton Street, Troy Cunningham was discovered dead. After that, on May 9, Wilkerson was the subject of an arrest warrant for first-degree murder and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, according to the USMS news release. The U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force (TRVFTF) in Memphis later took up the case for a fugitive investigation. The TRVFTF tracked Wilkerson to a house in Memphis’ 1400 block of N. Merton on August 26. According to photos provided by the authorities, Wilkerson tried to hide in the attic during the arrest, which caused a portion of the ceiling to collapse.
Images from the U.S. Marshals Service display a large hole in the property’s ceiling along with dust and other debris all over the kitchen floor. In a press release, the USMS stated that “Deputy marshals, with the assistance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Memphis Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Teams, surrounded the home,” stating that Wilkerson “was not injured from the fall and was taken into custody with no further incident.”
Background on the Murder Case
In response to demands for more case details, neither the Memphis Police Department nor the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office answered right away. Three people are suspected of being involved in Cunningham’s murder, including Wilkerson, according to a May 8 press statement from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. On April 2, while Troy Cunningham tried to escape from the suspects, he was “discovered on the sidewalk near Peres and Merton Street, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back of his head.”
The press announcement added that two female victims were inside a car going west on Peres Avenue when it was hit by gunfire during the incident. A bullet wound to one of the women’s shoulders. According to local news source WREG, the woman was treated at the hospital and was deemed to be in “noncritical condition.”
Image by Berthold Bronisz from Pixabay