A trial date has finally been set for Karl Loucks, the Army veteran accused of gunning down a homeless man outside a Downtown Memphis hotel in 2024. Loucks, 43, is scheduled to stand trial on Monday, April 5, 2027, on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 37-year-old Shaun Rhea, who was shot and killed outside the Courtyard by Marriott on North Front Street before 3 a.m. on May 31, 2024.
According to Action News 5, investigators say Rhea was shot several times outside the hotel, and authorities allege Loucks returned to the scene shortly after with a rifle concealed under an orange jacket before opening fire. Loucks was arrested and charged with first-degree murder the same day, the station reports. He has pleaded not guilty.
Loucks was also charged with aggravated assault in connection with a separate attack on an unhoused man, which happened just days before the fatal shooting, per the same report. As FOX13 Memphis notes, court documents indicate he was accused of slashing another homeless man twice with a knife in that earlier incident. USA Today reported that the first attack happened just six days before Rhea's killing, at the same hotel, on May 25, 2024.
What a Security Guard Told the Court
Details of what allegedly unfolded between Loucks and Rhea emerged during a hearing, according to court testimony described by Action News 5. A security guard testified that he saw Loucks use pepper spray on Rhea while Rhea was sleeping, and that Rhea then confronted Loucks. The guard also testified that Loucks pulled a knife during that confrontation, and that Rhea tried to throw a nearby electric scooter at Loucks but missed.
The same witness testified that Loucks then went into his apartment building and returned carrying an AR-style rifle under his orange jacket, after which he fired several shots. These accounts remain testimony and allegations presented in court, not findings of fact.
Defense Argues Self-Defense, Cites Lengthy Video Review
Loucks's attorney, Blake Ballin, has argued that his client acted in self-defense. Ballin previously told the court his office had received hours-long videos of the incident that he needed additional time to finish reviewing, a delay the station's report linked to the case's earlier timeline.
The case has moved slowly through Shelby County's court system since Loucks entered his not guilty plea. With the trial now calendared for April 5, 2027, the competing accounts of pepper spray, a knife, a thrown scooter and a rifle will ultimately be weighed by a jury rather than settled in pretrial hearings.
