Man shot to death in case of mistaken identity, police say; 2 charged

UPDATE: Justin Howard, also known as Boogie, has been taken into custody and charged with First-Degree Murder.

The 32-year-old is set to appear in court Wednesday.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman is facing a first-degree murder charge after a man was shot and killed inside a car Saturday.

Kiauna Newsom, 29, is charged with First-Degree Murder. Police say she was trying to shoot at her ex-boyfriend but hit his roommate instead.

On March 2, officers responded to a shooting in the 5400 block of Apple Blossom. Once on the scene, they found George Harris in the driver’s seat of a Chevy Malibu.

He had been shot to death; four bullet holes were in the driver’s window.

ORIGINAL STORY: Man dead after shooting in southeast Memphis

Investigators talked to the owner of the car, who said the man driving was his roommate. The owner believed he was the target, and that his roommate was the victim of mistaken identity.

Reports state that the car owner and his ex-girlfriend, Kianua Newsom, had argued at a store on Kirby and Shelby Drive.

The owner left the store and went home. His roommate asked to borrow his car.

Video footage showed Newsom wearing a white v-neck shirt and driving a gray Nissan with body damage.

After tracking the vehicle to her house, Memphis Police took Newsom into custody. She admitted to driving the Nissan and looking for her ex-boyfriend.

According to Newsom, a man known as “Boogie” was riding with her. When she saw the Chevy Malibu, she pulled beside it, and Boogie allegedly pulled out a rifle-style gun and fired multiple shots.

Memphis murders and homicides 2024

Newsom identified Boogie, whose real name is Justin Howard, in a lineup. He was taken into custody and charged with First-Degree Murder.

This case of mistaken identity is an example of tragedies Interim Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis talked about in a recent town hall meeting.

“We see more shootings now from individuals having an argument,” Chief Davis said. “Arguments turning into gun fights and shootings as opposed to conflict resolution.”

Chief Davis says before people would go in the yard and duke it out, now there are guns and people are shooting each other.

“What we’ve been doing is looking at the data to see where we have the highest concentration of crime,” Chief Davis said.

According to the Memphis Police Department data, this is the second murder within the area, in less than six months. There were also more than 100 crime reports.

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