Brandy Rucker (Memphis Police Dept.) and Alexander Bulakhov and family (GoFundMe)
One of two people accused of killing an employee with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee during a botched robbery last year has been set free after a judge dismissed the litany of charges filed against her for lack of probable cause.
Shelby County General Sessions Court Judge Sheila B. Renfroe on Wednesday ordered charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated battery, among others, be dropped against Brandy Rucker in the November 2023 slaying of Alexander Bulakhov due to lack of probable cause, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. Jail records show that she was released after the hearing.
Rucker, the alleged getaway driver, appeared in court along with co-defendant Marious Ward, the alleged gunman accused of fatally shooting Bulakhov in front of his wife and 2-year-old child. Ward’s case was “held to state,” meaning he will remain in detention at the Shelby County Jail without bond while the state brings his case to a grand jury for indictment.