A Memphis man previously convicted of second-degree murder is back in custody, accused of carjacking a woman at gunpoint after allegedly threatening to “blow your head off” if she didn't hand over her belongings. Forty-year-old Damien Evans was booked into the Shelby County Jail at 6:38 p.m. on August 27, 2026, following his arrest on charges tied to an armed robbery and carjacking that unfolded the day before.
According to Action News 5, Memphis police responded to an aggravated robbery call on August 26 after a woman reported that a man approached her and held her at gunpoint. The man allegedly told her, “Give me everything or I'll blow your head off,” and the victim handed over her purse, which contained her wallet and car key. That key would go on to identify the stolen vehicle: a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder.
Surveillance Video Leads Police To A Damaged SUV
Investigators learned that the suspects fled in a gold GMC Yukon with obvious damage, according to the same report. Apartment complex personnel showed Memphis police security footage and still photos of the incident, giving detectives a clearer picture of the vehicle and the people inside it. Booking details posted to Memphis Mugshots on Facebook add that Evans was taken into custody after police tied that damaged SUV to a specific address.
On August 27, police found the gold GMC Yukon at its registered address and began surveillance, per Action News 5's report. Two people entered the vehicle, with Evans seated in the driver's seat and a woman in the passenger seat. Officers then performed a traffic stop using lights and sirens. Evans was charged with aggravated robbery, carjacking, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
A Prior Murder Conviction Complicates The Gun Charge
Evans' record includes a prior conviction for second-degree murder, which is what triggered the felon-in-possession charge in addition to the carjacking and robbery counts. Under Tennessee law, second-degree murder is defined as a knowing killing without premeditation and is classified as a Class A felony carrying a statutory sentence of 15 to 60 years in prison, according to Justia Law. That prior violent felony conviction is also what makes his alleged possession of a handgun during this incident a separate Class B felony under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1307(b).
Carjacking itself is defined under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-404 as taking a motor vehicle through force, intimidation, or a deadly weapon, and it is classified as a Class B felony carrying an 8- to 30-year sentence, according to Knox Defense. If Evans is convicted, Tennessee's Truth in Sentencing Act, which took effect in July 2022, would require him to serve 100% of any court-imposed carjacking sentence in confinement without early parole eligibility, per the Law Office of Massey McClusky & Fuchs.
Mandatory Add-On Time For The Firearm Charge
The firearm charge carries its own separate consequences. Possessing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony requires a mandatory consecutive prison sentence of 3 to 5 years under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1324, according to Vasek & Robbins, meaning that time cannot be served alongside any sentence handed down for the underlying carjacking or robbery charges. Taken together, a conviction on the pending charges would expose Evans to mandatory non-concurrent sentence enhancements and potential decades behind bars without the possibility of parole.
Evans is currently held on a $125,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Monday, August 31. The dossier does not specify when Evans was sentenced for his prior murder conviction, how much time he ultimately served, or under what supervision terms he was released before this latest arrest.
Case Comes Amid Sharp Citywide Drop In Carjackings
The arrest lands at a moment when Memphis officials have been touting steep declines in the very category of crime Evans is now accused of committing. The Memphis Police Department reported that carjackings across the city dropped 48% in 2025 compared to 2024, alongside a 27% drop in overall Part I crimes. Preliminary figures released in July by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission showed major violent crime down 31.5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
To target repeat violent offenders seen as key drivers of remaining crime, Memphis police established dedicated Prolific Offender Initiatives in 2025. The department also noted that Memphis recorded fewer than 200 homicides in 2025 for the first time since 2019, a 26% year-over-year decline in murder cases. Even against that broader backdrop of falling crime, cases involving previously convicted felons accused of new violent offenses tend to draw intense public scrutiny, and Evans' case is no exception given his second-degree murder history.
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