Jaylen Simpson, Carjacking, Tennessee 2024

A brazen daylight carjacking in Memphis left a 60-year-old man fighting for his life, and now the perpetrator is facing over 18 years behind bars.

Jaylen Simpson, 23, of Memphis, was sentenced to 18 years and five years of supervised release for carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury and discharging a firearm during the carjacking.

‘This was a calculated and brutal act of violence against an unsuspecting man in his own front yard in broad daylight,’ said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Criminal Division. ‘We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their swift response and commitment to public safety.’

The crime occurred on May 16, 2024, at around 7:45 a.m., when Simpson shot the 60-year-old victim in the stomach as the victim stepped outside his home to mow the lawn. Simpson, who had been hiding in the victim’s backyard, then stole the victim’s car keys and fled in his vehicle.

Home surveillance footage from the victim’s home showed the defendant entering the victim’s vehicle with a black handgun after shooting the victim in the stomach. After pursuing him for nearly three hours by car and on foot, Memphis Police apprehended Simpson, who was carrying inside his backpack a loaded Walther Creed 9mm pistol that had been reported stolen days before.

The victim was hospitalized for four weeks and underwent multiple surgeries to treat the gunshot wound. Simpson pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of the crime.

The ATF and the Memphis Police Department Violent Crime Unit investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Ashleigh Atasoy of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods efforts to prosecute violent crimes in Memphis, Tennessee and surrounding areas.

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