This week, former Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was sentenced to two years in federal prison related to an investigation into his grant-giving habits.
And newly-elected Shelby County Sheriff Anthony Buckner has started appointing members of his command staff.
The sheriff's office also this week said aninmate at 201 Poplar fatally stabbed another inmate.
Here's what else was on the docket for the week of Oct. 5, 2026.
Former Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was sentenced to two years in federal prison in his bribery and tax evasion case.
Ford pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted tax evasion on Feb. 2, just under a year after being indicted for one count of bribery and six counts of attempted tax evasion. There is no parole
in the federal system, so Ford will serve the entirety of his sentence.
"This case is about corruption ... ," U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker for the Western District of Tennessee said during the sentencing hearing on Oct. 6. He also said, "one of the questions I have is whether Mr. Ford fully appreciates what got him here."
He will have 45 days to report to court before being taken into custody.
Parker said Ford met the "low bar" of accepting responsibility, but said Ford "came pretty close to tripping over that low bar" because his resignation letter to the Shelby County Commission only listed his accomplishments and did not explain to constituents what happened to force his resignation.
"It just struck me as bold and arrogant," Parker said.
The indictment was the culmination of a nearly four-year long investigation into Ford's grant-giving habits. It borrows heavily from reporting done by The Commercial Appeal, including stories that found Ford committed potential ethics violations.
Shelby County Sheriff starts appointing new brass
Shelby County Sheriff Anthony Buckner has, over the last week, appointed a number of new deputies to fill his command staff.
Buckner launched a national search for a new chief jailer, on Sept. 18 but appointed Terry Miller as that position's interim chief on Sept. 29.
Since then, he appointed a bevy of other officials. Here's a list of those newly-appointed staffers:
- Anna Barnett was appointed as chief inspector for the jail on Sept. 30.
- Chuck Mays was appointed chief deputy sheriff on Oct. 6.
- David Boddie was named assistant chief deputy sheriff on Oct. 7.
- Wes Henson was appointed as chief inspector on Oct. 8.
Shelby County Jail inmate dies after being stabbed by cellmate
An inmate at the Shelby County Jail, also known as 201 Poplar, was killed by another inmate Tuesday, Oct. 6, Shelby County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Jerrita Patterson said during a press conference.
According to Patterson, corrections deputies within the jail responded to a "disturbance" around 9:19 a.m. on Oct. 6. When they arrived, they found 23-year-old Erick Jones injured in a pod on the third floor of the jail.
"Corrections deputies as well as staff provided the best medical care they could, that is until Memphis Fire could make their way there," Patterson said. "There was an inmate who was rushed away to Regional One. This inmate, unfortunately, did not survive."
Patterson said Jones was pronounced dead at Regional One Health around 9:26 a.m. Tuesday.
Details about the stabbing were slim during the press conference. SCSO is leading the investigation into Jones' death.
Jones was allegedly stabbed by his cellmate, who Patterson identified as 19-year-old Johnathan Griffin, who was in jail on two counts of first-degree murder. The Commercial Appeal verified the murder charges through the Shelby County criminal justice portal, along with other theft and domestic violence charges tied to Griffin.
Patterson's Tuesday press conference was the first hosted since she left WREG News Channel 3 and joined the sheriff's office as a public information officer.
Top Commercial Appeal courts, public safety stories readers have viewed
- From Oct. 6, 2026: Morning news anchor leaving WREG to join Shelby County Sheriff's Office
- From Oct. 1, 2026: Christa Pike was second botched 2026 TN execution. Tony Carruthers was first
- From Oct. 6, 2026: Ex-Shelby County commissioner sentenced to 2 years in federal prison
- From Oct. 6, 2026: Man fatally stabbed at 201 Poplar, Shelby County Sheriff's Office says
- From Oct. 1, 2026: Shelby County warehouse raids find 'tens of thousands' of kratom packs
Latest in Memphis' biggest cases
Multiple cases this week were reset in state court. Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon's sign vandalism case was set for disposition on Oct. 7, but was postponed until November.
Similarly, acquitted Young Dolph murder suspect Hernandez Govan had his harassment case pushed back. Govan pleaded guilty to cyberstalking charges in federal court on Sept. 16, but is yet to have a disposition in the state case.
Across the state, in Nashville's federal courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw for the Middle District of Tennessee signaled he was ready for a state-appointed board tasked with taking over Memphis-Shelby County Schools to start working.
Crenshaw, in an order filed on Oct. 5, directed the oversight board's chairman to file a statement under oath when the body is "ready, willing, and able to perform its duties."
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Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ex-Shelby County commissioner sentenced to two years in federal prison
