MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police say while they were helping a victim in fatal shooting at a Frayser store Thursday, a passerby stole the gun from the crime scene and sold it for drugs.
Joe Griggs is charged with tampering with evidence, theft of property and false reporting.
Officers responded to the store on Frayser Boulevard just before 10 a.m., where they found a man who’d been shot. The victim was taken to Regional One in critical condition, but did not survive.
When they reviewed security footage, police said they saw someone toss a silver handgun next to the store’s counter. As officers were aiding the victim, they say Griggs was caught on video as he picked up the gun, put it in his back pocket and walked out of the store.
Police tracked down Griggs, who was a regular at the store. They say he confessed and told them the gun was in his room. After a search, however, police said the gun found was not the same one used in the shooting.
They say Griggs later confessed to selling the gun to an unknown person for crack cocaine.
