A man who faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in a daylong shooting rampage that paralyzed Memphis and left three people dead and three others wounded will face trial in July, a judge said Friday.
Ezekiel Kelly has pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen state charges in the September 2022 mass shooting, which led to a citywide shelter-in-place order and a frantic manhunt.
Judge James Jones Jr. set Kelly’s trial for July 14 during a brief hearing.
Kelly, 22, was charged in the deaths of Dewayne Tunstall, Richard Clark and Allison Parker. During a news conference in March 2023, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said prosecutors plan to seek death if Kelly is found guilty of first-degree murder.
Mulroy listed factors for his decision to file a notice to seek the death penalty, including that it was a random mass shooting and that Kelly has a prior conviction for aggravated assault.
At least three witnesses saw Kelly shoot Tunstall during a gathering at a Memphis home at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2022, according to a police affidavit. Clark and Parker were shot later that day, as Kelly was driving around Memphis, livestreaming some of his activities, authorities said.