Inset left: Tony Curry (Shelby County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Shaton Cobb (Ford & Sons Funeral Home/The Daily Memphian). Background: Tires Llantas at 4697 Winchester Road in Memphis, Tennessee (Google Maps).
A Tennessee man allegedly shot and killed a Memphis store owner after his mother got into a physical fight with him earlier in the day.
Tony Curry, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and using a firearm with intent to commit a felony, according to Shelby County court records. The charges were announced this week, but the underlying incident occurred nearly two months ago, on June 13.
A fight broke out at Tires Llantas at 4697 Winchester Road in Memphis between a woman and the shop’s owner, Shaton Cobb, according to a complaint affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime. It is unclear what led to the disagreement, but the woman “sprayed him with pepper spray and Mr. Cobb pushed her to the ground.”
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This was recounted by another shop employee, who detailed how the disagreement had not ended when the woman left. A couple of hours later, “a male came to the tire shop and asked for the owner.” When she pointed toward Cobb, the two men began to speak – before the suspect pulled out a gun and shot Cobb “several times and then turned and shot” the other employee, authorities said.
Responding police officers pronounced Cobb dead, and the other victim was rushed to a nearby hospital after having been shot in her legs, the affidavit states. Investigators spoke with her, and she is said to have wasted little time identifying her attacker.
“When investigators asked if she recognized the male, she said he was the son of the lady that was at the shop earlier and sprayed Mr. Cobb,” the court document details, saying the woman provided distinguishing characteristics that matched the son of the woman who was in the shop earlier that day.
When this victim at the hospital was given a six-person photo lineup, “immediately without hesitation she picked out Tony Curry as the person that shot her and Shaton Cobb,” the document concludes.
Court records show Curry was previously charged in the summer of 2022 with the unlawful possession of a weapon and violating vehicle registration laws, both misdemeanors.
Curry is jailed in Shelby County under no bond. His next court appearance is set for Monday.
