MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Memphis Police announced Tremaine Wilbourn was the shooter they were looking for, they also revealed his criminal past.
Wilbourn was out on supervised release by the U.S. District Court for a 121-month sentence for robbery of a banking institution, MPD Director Toney Armstrong said in news conference Sunday.
It was the Friendship Bank in Covington that Wilbourn robbed in 2005. At sentencing in 2006, the then-19-year-old said his uncle forced him to do the crime. Before the robbery, he was awaiting news regarding a possible college scholarship based on his athletic ability.
Federal Judge Bernice Donald sentenced Wilbourn to prison for 121 months, followed by three years of supervised release.
He did most of that time, from 2006 to 2014, before being released.
As a part of his release, he could not commit another crime or possess a firearm. He also could not use any drugs.
Yet, according to a warrant issued for Wilbourn on Monday, on December 22, 2014, Wilbourn used marijuana, a violation of his release.
We contacted the Federal Bureau of Prisons for answers.
Prison officials said they will look into why Wilbourn was not put back in jail for violating probation and have someone get back with us.
If Wilbourn had been in jail, his encounter with Officer Sean Bolton could not have happened.
It is likely he was aware when he came in contact with the police officer what it meant for his parole, especially since police said he had a gun and there were also drugs in the car, automatic grounds that would land him back in jail.
Had Wilbourn stayed clear of violations, his supervised released would have ended in June 2017, in essence giving him back his freedom.
