Man charged with murder after allegedly shooting fleeing shoplifting suspect repeatedly in the back
Man charged with murder after allegedly shooting fleeing shoplifting suspect repeatedly in the back
POSTED 7:41 AM, OCTOBER 17, 2019, BY ERYN TAYLOR AND NINA HARRELSON, UPDATED AT 11:15AM, OCTOBER 17, 2019
Charles Kalb
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An employee of a Fox Meadows business was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after police say he shot an unarmed shoplifting suspect in the back several times as the man tried to run away.
Several witnesses told police that they saw Charles Kalb, 56, shoot Lamorris RobinsonWednesday afternoon in the parking lot of Extra Space Storage on Mt. Moriah Road.
According to court records, Kalb, who works next door at Mid-South Small Engines, shot Robinson repeatedly in the back with a sawed-off shotgun after he stole a chainsaw and took off running.
“It’s awful. Terrible,” Eddie Williams said. “Call the police and let them do what they’re supposed to do.”
Robinson, who police say didn’t have a weapon, collapsed in the parking lot of thestorage facility. He was taken to the Regional Medical Center, where he died.
Investigators say five witnesses identified Kalb as the shooter, and the shooting was captured on surveillance cameras.
“I’m very surprised to hear that anything like that would happen involving a person in Rosewood,” Kalb’s neighbor, Marian Waguespack, said. “It just makes you think how much the world has changed, how guns are more frequently used as opposed to trying to resolve things in other ways. It’s pretty scary.”
There was no answer at Kalb’s Collierville home Thursday morning, and store management told WREG they had no comment.
In addition to murder charges, Kalb is also facing a charge of possession of a prohibited weapon. Investigators say his shotgun had been sawed off to 14-inches, making it illegal in the U.S.
“People are very friendly, so this is pretty much out of character for anyone, I would think, that would live within this complex,” Waguespack said. “This is really just a great neighborhood, and I’m saddened by it. Sad to hear it.”
Aside from a couple of minor traffic violations, online court records show Kalb has no prior criminal record in Shelby County. He is being held without bond and will face a judge Friday morning.
