Good Guy with a Gun #201: Memphis, TN
Griff Tannen — but murderous. Marty McFly — but armed. Welcome to Monday night hoverboarding in Memphis. | Original incident: May 20, 2024
These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is essentially the same as the calendar version.
East Shelby Drive looks like pretty much any other place in Memphis. It’s right off of Interstate 55, just a short hop from the Memphis airport.
But it felt pretty different for one man on a hoverboard.
He was in the area at about 9:00 on a Monday night, minding his own business, when a black Dodge Charger pulled in front of him and blocked his path. A young man climbed out of the car and demanded his hoverboard at gunpoint.
But this hoverboarder was no Marty McFly. He pulled his own firearm, and they exchanged gunfire. Both of them took multiple hits. (You have a moral right to defend yourself — and in some states, they don’t infringe on that right through abusive laws — but in doing so, you might get hurt. Think before you draw.)
The aggressor, 18-year-old Marcellous Cathey, got back into his Charger and drove to Methodist South Hospital, about two miles away. With a gunshot wound, people ask questions. He told detectives that he was on East Shelby Drive when he pulled over to check on a bumpy tire — and someone shot him. He also told them it was exactly the timeframe of the attempted robbery.
The victim was taken to Regional One Hospital, about ten miles away, but he was later able to identify Cathey as the man who tried to rob him.
A case of he said / he said? I’m not sure what made the victim credible to police, but three weeks later they arrested Cathey and charged him with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
Yet another bad guy repelled by an armed innocent. Doc Brown could not be reached for comment.
Sources
Coverage was light.
WMC Action News 5 covered both the initial shooting and the arrest report.
Fox 13 caught the initial shooting, while News Channel 3 covered the arrest.
Memphis is a dangerous, dangerous city. We don't even think about going there.