Over a year following a fatal shooting incident at a South Memphis apartment, a woman has been taken into custody and faces charges including first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. As reported by Local Memphis, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) responded to a call at the 1700 block of Lapaloma Street on October 28, 2023, where they found a man deceased with multiple gunshot wounds.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Jamesha Banzant, also known as "Neecy," had managed to elude authorities until her arrest on November 20. This arrest came after investigators pieced together evidence including the discovery of Banzant's blue 1998 Ford Mustang abandoned in Southaven the day following the murder, as per information from FOX13 Memphis. Witnesses recounted the events leading up to the shooting, which started with an argument between two men helping a woman to move out of her apartment. Though that dispute resolved without incident, tensions escalated again when Moore and a male neighbor encountered Banzant, which allegedly led to the shooting.
During her court appearance on Thursday, Banzant pleaded not guilty. "A plea of not guilty was entered into this case, you are presumed. You do have the right to have an attorney represent you," Judge Louis Montesi, Jr. stated, as reported by WREG News Channel 3. With her not-guilty plea, Banzant appointed a public defender to represent her and was ordered to remain in jail without bond; she is due back in court for a bail review the following Friday morning.
The victim, Montreal Moore, was seen arguing with Banzant shortly before he was shot. A witness described Moore as saying, "You better get your girl," moments before the gunfire, according to the account a woman who claimed to have heard the altercation and subsequent shooting gave to the police. "Neecy" was then witnessed to brandish her right arm, wrapped in a yellow sheet, before several shots were fired, and Moore collapsed from gunshot wounds. After the shooting, Banzant is said to have grabbed two cell phones and told the witness, "Auntie you didn’t see nothing" prior to fleeing the scene with the male neighbor, as described by statements to WREG News Channel 3.
