MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man has been charged with several felonies after barricading himself inside of a house with an 11-month-old child for nearly four hours in southwest Memphis.
Redarius Jones, 21, has been arrested and charged with several counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and employing a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
The incident began earlier that morning, across the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas. Destini Ross and her father said Jones drove his car into their West Memphis home early Friday morning.
“His car was sitting here — sitting in the dining room,” father Rufus Ross said.
Rufus Ross said his 11-month-old granddaughter was inside the car, but West Memphis Police let Jones leave with the baby.
“His car was sitting in my dining room, and they refused to arrest him,” Rufus Ross said. “He told them that his brakes went out. Pulled up, had his signal light on, got in my driveway and accelerated, and ran through my wall. You know, with three people in the house, clearly, he could have killed anyone.”
“They said they aren’t mechanics, and they can’t tell us whether or not his brakes were actually broken,” Destini Ross, the child’s mother, said.
No one was hurt, but it didn’t stop there. The standoff happened later in the day around 1:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of Masterson Cove.
Destini Ross asked Memphis Police officers to escort her to the house to pick up her 11-month-old child. When they arrived, Jones reportedly opened the door, shot at her and the officer and barricaded himself inside of the house with the child and nine other people.
While shots were ringing out, Ross and Jones’ other daughter, a 3-year-old, was in a car only feet away.
According to court documents, Jones fired two more shots at the officers as the officers took cover.
It took crisis negotiators nearly four hours to talk Jones into surrendering. According to Memphis Police, Jones surrendered peacefully at around 5:20 p.m.
Destini didn’t know how she and her children were lucky enough to survive, but she and her father said they want answers from West Memphis Police.
“Had he got arrested last night when he did that in there, it wouldn’t have got to this point,” she said.
WREG reached out to West Memphis Police about why Jones wasn’t arrested there after allegedly driving his car into Ross’ home, but we haven’t yet heard back.
Jones is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 2. He is facing four counts of attempted first-degree murder and four other felony charges.
