Two Indicted in Motel Murder, Robbery Try

Aug. 2, 2021 – Two men have been on first-degree murder charges in the killing of a 54-year-old man during a robbery attempt last December outside of a motel in northeast Memphis, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendants Joshua Black and Daron Clayborne, both 22, were indicted on felony counts of first-degree murder and attempted especially aggravated robbery. They are being held in the Shelby County Jail without bond.

Investigators said that shortly after midnight on Dec. 8, 2020, the defendants followed Jimmy A. Moore from a gas station convenience store to a nearby motel in the 1500 block of Sycamore View Road near Interstate 40.   

While Moore was standing outside the motel under a canopy, Black and Clayborne confronted him at gunpoint, demanded money and shot him during a struggle.

Investigators with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office soon developed Black and Clayborne as suspects, and took both into custody later that morning.

The case is being handled by Felony Asst. Regina Thompson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 11 and Criminal Court Division 3.