MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Grand Jury will take up the case against a 19-year-old woman Memphis Police said is responsible for a deadly shooting near Overton Square.
Kyla Jones posted $51,000 bond and was released Oct. 25. $50,000 of that was on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, according to court records, and $1,000 was for an unrelated assault charge from April.
Officers said they responded Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, shortly before 1 a.m. to the 2100 block of Madison. They found a woman, identified in the affidavit as D'Arrah Gordon, shot. She was taken in critical to Regional One Hospital and later died from her injuries, according to MPD.
According to the affidavit, witnesses told investigators that there was a party, and at some point, Jones and Gordon began arguing in the living room in front of several others. The affidavit said the witnesses told police Jones pulled out a small gun and fired several shots at Gordon, while others there ran for safety. The witnesses said Gordon ran toward a bedroom and was shot while running.
Police announced a few days later that were looking for 19-year-old Jones. She was arrested and booked into jail on Oct. 23, according to court records.
The separate assault charge Jones faces is in connection with threats made at someone else outside 201 Poplar on April 26. Court records show Jones had a hearing reset that day from a previous domestic violence charge from earlier that month. She was out on bond at the time and the domestic violence case was eventually dropped, according to court records.
Neighbors react to shooting
Less than 100 yards from Overton Square, neighbors on Madison Avenue near Cooper Street said what went down that Sunday morning was definitely out of the ordinary.
“It was 20 to 30 people I think that came out of the house,” said one neighbor who saw the aftermath while walking her dog,” Mostly women, a lot of screaming, a lot of yelling, may be four to six cop cars and two fire trucks that I could see.”
The Memphian told ABC24 the property of the gathering and several nearby are vacation rental properties like Airbnb and VRBO. While parties are nothing new, the neighbor said they have not seen it escalate to gun violence.
“As far as the permanent residents, they don’t want to see that, they don’t want to have big parties, they don’t want to have these shootings. We understand we live in Memphis so it’s not the most safe city, but we don’t want to see that so close to Overton Square,” said the neighbor.
Those who live nearby want city leaders to better address and discipline visitors to these properties to prevent things from going too far at vacation rental homes.
“The people renting the home need to be held more accountable for not throwing parties and if that’s their plan, they need to do it elsewhere,” said the Midtown neighbor.
ABC24 has been able to verify the property on Madison, where neighbors tell us the shooting happened, is currently listed on VRBO. We have reached out to the vacation rental site but have yet to hear back.
Anyone with additional information about shootings can call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-2274 (CASH) with tips.