Background: The intersection of East Dison Avenue and Carnegie Street in Memphis, Tennessee (Google Maps). Inset top: Verdell Pegues (Shelby County Sheriff's Office). Inset bottom: Lashaunda Boyd (Serenity Funeral Home).
A man in Tennessee is accused of gunning down his ex-girlfriend and a man she was with following multiple domestic violence incidents just days earlier.
Verdell Pegues, 41, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, employing a firearm with intent to commit a felony, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The shooting victims were identified by Memphis CBS affiliate WREG as Lashaunda Boyd, 36, and Jimmy Ford, 37.
According to Shelby County court records reviewed by Law&Crime, Pegues is being held in jail on a $1 million bond.
On March 18, Boyd reportedly filed two domestic violence-related police reports against Pegues, accusing him of assaulting her. She claimed he hit her in the face multiple times on March 15 and then, two days later, pointed what appeared to be a 9 mm handgun at her and said, "If I can't have you, no one can."
On March 22, just before noon, Boyd and Ford were walking near the intersection of East Dison Avenue and Carnegie Street in Memphis. According to the Memphis Police Department, video footage showed a man suddenly shoot the two of them as they walked along the sidewalk.
Boyd and Ford fell to the ground, and the suspect — later identified as Pegues — allegedly stood over each of them and fired the weapon again.
Officers reportedly responded to the scene to find the two shooting victims on the ground by the intersection with gunshot wounds. They found 9 mm cartridge casings on the ground nearby.
Boyd was pronounced dead at the scene; Ford was taken to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, WREG reported.
Police spoke with witnesses, with multiple allegedly telling investigators that a man named "RaRa" was Boyd's ex-boyfriend and was responsible for the killings. One witness said they saw "RaRa" shoot Ford and Boyd, and this witness later identified Pegues as the suspect to whom he was referring.
Pegues was arrested and had a video arraignment on Wednesday.