Crime and Courts

Officials were looking for a murder suspect in Tennessee. Then he came crashing through the ceiling

Deario Wilkerson, 20, was wanted in connection with the April killing of a man in Memphis, the U.S. Marshal's Service said.

A man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting was arrested after crashing through the ceiling of the home in which he was hiding, authorities said.
U.S. Marshals Service Memphis / via X

A fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Tennessee earlier this year was captured Monday after he fell through the ceiling of the Memphis home where he was hiding, federal authorities said.

Deario Wilkerson, 20, was uninjured and taken into custody without incident on charges of first-degree murder and reckless endangerment-deadly weapon in connection with an April 2 killing of Troy Cunningham northeast of downtown Memphis, the U.S. Marshal’s Service said in a news release.

An agency task force had tracked Wilkerson to the home and surrounded it when he tried to hide in the attic, according to the release.

A man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting was arrested after crashing through the ceiling of the home in which he was hiding, authorities said. (U.S. Marshals Service Memphis / via X)

Wilkerson was one of three suspects identified in Cunningham’s killing, which the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said occurred after the suspects stole Cunningham’s gun and fired it at him.

Cunningham was shot in the back of his head as he tried to flee the area, the prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

The other two suspects were previously arrested and charged in the shooting, the prosecutor’s office said. An arrest warrant was issued for Wilkerson in May.

It wasn't clear Tuesday if Wilkerson has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. Court records did not list one. 

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