Man charged in shootings, officer’s death appointed lawyer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – A judge in Tennessee has appointed a public defender to represent a man charged with shooting three people and then running over and killing a Memphis police officer.
Public defender Kindle Nance spoke with her client, 21-year-old Justine Welch, during a court appearance Wednesday. Nance declined comment to reporters outside the courtroom.
Authorities say Welch shot two people at a downtown Memphis restaurant and another person outside the Memphis Pyramid on Saturday night. Police say he led officers on a chase in a stolen car before hitting Officer Verdell Smith, who was clearing pedestrians from the vehicle’s path near Beale Street.
Smith died at a hospital. Visitation services are scheduled for Thursday, and Smith’s funeral and burial are set for Friday.
Welch is scheduled to return to court June 22.
