A 24-year-old man is facing robbery and theft charges after Shelby County deputies say he and a cousin spent nearly a week watching a Southeast Memphis woman and her Mercedes before making their move, an attack that left her struck by a car door, knocked to the ground, and robbed of her purse, phone-locating app, and ultimately her vehicle.
Deputies responded Nov. 6 to the 3800 block of Kestrel Lane in Southeast Memphis after the victim reported the robbery, according to WREG. The outlet reports the victim was walking toward her Mercedes when she stopped to check the low tire pressure on a burgundy Ford Expedition. As she did, the Ford's door swung open and struck her in the head, and three men then jumped out, pushed her to the ground, and took her purse.
Purse Held the Keys to a Second Crime
Inside that purse were the keys to the victim's Mercedes and her handgun, per the same report. The suspects fled the scene in both vehicles — her Mercedes and the Ford Expedition — leaving the victim to turn to her own phone for help tracking down her car.
She used a phone app to trace the Mercedes to Panola County, Mississippi, the station notes. Panola County deputies located the vehicle, but its driver bolted on foot and got away. A short time later, those same deputies pulled over the Ford Expedition and took its driver into custody, identifying him as Johnathan Pernell.
Suspect Allegedly Describes a Week of Surveillance
Pernell told deputies that he and his cousin had been watching the victim and her Mercedes for nearly a week, waiting for the right opportunity to steal the car, the station's report states. Investigators said Pernell assisted in the theft but was not the person who actually stole the victim's vehicle and purse — a distinction authorities drew as they built the case against him.
Pernell, 24, has been charged with theft of property valued between $10,000 and $60,000 and with robbery. His bond had not been set as of the report, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. The victim's Mercedes is valued at $41,000, and her handgun at over $300, the outlet reports. It remains unclear whether another suspect in the case has been arrested.
A Separate Mississippi Chase Underscores the Pattern
This is not the only recent case in which a stolen vehicle tied to a Memphis crime turned up across the state line. In a separate armed-robbery and aggravated-assault investigation, authorities located a black Mercedes in the town of Crowder, Mississippi, behind a residence occupied by 30-year-old Titus Lester of Memphis, according to Action News 5. Deputies in that case said Lester fled when they tried to make contact, striking two vehicles and disabling one in the process.
Accounts of what happened to Lester afterward diverge. FOX13 Memphis reported that the man who fled from the stolen vehicle tied to that armed robbery and aggravated assault had been captured, while a prior Hoodline report stated that Lester remained at large after the pursuit involving the stolen Mercedes. The discrepancy between those accounts has not been resolved.
Citywide, motor vehicle thefts in Memphis were 36% higher in 2025 than in 2019, Hoodline has reported, though that broader trend does not establish any direct connection to the Kestrel Lane case. For now, the Pernell case moves forward on its own timeline, with his court appearance set for Thursday and the fate of any additional suspects still unclear.
