A Memphis man who fired three shots at a gas station clerk in 2024 and later allegedly melted his way out of police custody using a cigarette lighter has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Amos Flemming pleaded guilty to criminal attempt first-degree murder for shooting at an Exxon employee at 2231 South Third Street in South Memphis, and under Tennessee's Truth in Sentencing law, he will have to serve the entire term behind bars.
According to WREG, the shooting happened on May 8, 2024, after Flemming got into an argument with the Exxon employee. Police say Flemming fired three shots at the victim, who managed to escape into a back room as the clerk called police. The bullets struck the store's bullet-resistant counter enclosure, a barrier that, per Total Security Solutions, is typically built to UL752 standards designed to stop rounds up to .44 Magnum caliber — a detail that helps explain how the clerk survived being fired on at close range.
Flemming, according to the Shelby County District Attorney General's Office, shot at the employee during the confrontation at the South Memphis station. The Exxon sits along a stretch of South Third Street where the Memphis Police Department has repeatedly responded to violent crime and aggravated assault calls, a corridor that sees frequent patrol activity given its status as a major commercial artery.
A Bizarre Escape From Hospital Custody
The case took an unusual turn in February 2025, when Flemming was being held at Regional One Hospital. He had allegedly used a lighter to melt the plastic railing of a hospital bed that his left wrist was handcuffed to, according to the original report from the station's account of the case. Flemming was in MED police holding at the time, in a facility that houses the Elvis Presley Trauma Center — the only Level 1 adult trauma center within 150 miles across Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri, per Regional One Health, a center that treats more than 12,000 emergency patients a year and maintains a specialized unit for detained patients.
Flemming was accused of locking himself inside the holding room and resisting arrest once officers caught up with him. He was allegedly caught driving a stolen 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage in the parking lot of a Valero gas station on South Highland, and officers used a taser on him during the confrontation, per the same account. A Teamwear Graphics manager, where Flemming had worked, was accused of helping him evade police, according to the report.
Criminal History Stretches Back a Decade
Flemming was eventually transported to 201 Poplar, the downtown facility that houses the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center — encompassing all 10 divisions of Shelby County Criminal Court, General Sessions courts, the county jail, and the District Attorney General's Office, according to Shelby County Government. It was there that he was ultimately sentenced.
Court records cited in the report show Flemming's criminal history dates back years. He was convicted of solicitation-aggravated burglary, criminal attempt aggravated robbery, and aggravated robbery in 2015. In 2022, he was convicted of aggravated burglary, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of aggravated assault. He was also accused of setting fire to an apartment in 2023 with his girlfriend and two children inside, per the outlet's reporting.
Why the Sentence Is the Statutory Minimum
Attempted first-degree murder is classified as a Class A felony in Tennessee, carrying an authorized Range I sentencing span of 15 to 25 years for first-time felony offenders, according to the Kevin Kennedy Law Firm. Flemming's 15-year term represents the minimum allowed within that range.
Because the shooting happened after July 1, 2022, Flemming's sentence falls under Tennessee's 2022 Truth in Sentencing law, which requires anyone convicted of attempted first-degree murder to serve 100% of the sentence with no eligibility for parole or early release, according to Lannom & Williams Law. The 2022 statute removed parole eligibility for eight specific violent felony categories.
Flemming's alleged flight in a stolen car also carries its own legal exposure. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-603, intentionally eluding a law enforcement officer in a vehicle is a Class E felony that can escalate to a Class D felony carrying up to six years in prison if the flight creates a risk of death or injury to bystanders, according to Justia Law.
Part of a Broader Pattern at Memphis Gas Stations
The Exxon shooting is one of several incidents Hoodline has tracked involving violence at Memphis gas stations and corner stores, a pattern that has prompted community calls for enhanced late-night security and targeted patrols around commercial hotspots. Hoodline previously reported on a driver shot at the pump at a Hickory Hill Exxon, and on a fatal shooting at a South Parkway East BP station.
Citywide, violent crime in Memphis fell 27.6% in 2025 compared with the year before, with homicides dropping below 200 for the first time since 2019, according to Hoodline's own reporting. City officials attributed the decline to coordinated task-force operations and targeted violent crime initiatives, even as individual cases like Flemming's continue moving through the courts. The Shelby County District Attorney General's Office, now led by Steve Mulroy, secured 4,714 criminal convictions totaling 8,881 cumulative years of prison sentences during the first seven months of 2026, according to JustMyMemphis.
