MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man was indicted for the abduction and fatal shooting of a double amputee last month, prosecutors said Thursday.
Jerome Nichols, 24, was indicted by a grand jury on felony counts of premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and especially aggravated robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said in a news release.
Prosecutors said Nichols and another man kidnapped Ramarreao Prince Akins, 41, whose legs had been amputated, outside of a Memphis grocery store on Aug. 12, 2021, WHBQ-TV reported.
They took him from his wheelchair at gunpoint, shot him more than half a dozen times and left his body in a field, the district attorney said. https://t.co/iwUGKqzz1T
— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13Memphis) March 31, 2022
Akins, who was in a wheelchair, was punched and slapped by Nichols and the other man, according to the television station.
Prosecutors said that Akins was then taken from his wheelchair at gunpoint and placed into a green Saturn SUV, the news release stated.
Surveillance video showed the men driving away from the store, leaving the wheelchair behind, according to the release.
Two days later, a father and his son who were riding four-wheelers discovered Akins’ body in a field, Weirich said.
According to the medical examiner, Akins was shot more than six times, WHBQ reported.
Nichols was arrested a month later, prosecutors said. The second suspect has not been identified.
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