Lorenzen Wright case: Billy Ray Turner sentenced to 16 years in prison for gun charge

Judge Lee Coffee on Thursday sentenced Lorenzen Wright homicide suspect Billy Turner to 16 years in a gun possession case, citing multiple felony convictions dating from the early 1990s and subsequent loss of the right to have a weapon. 

“There’s absolutely no, no legal excuses,” the criminal court judge said. 

Turner’s defense lawyer John Keith Perry said Turner maintains his innocence in the slaying of the basketball star and that he's moving forward with plans for a Sept.16 trial. "We're not in any sort of plea discussions at this point at all." 

He said no witnesses can testify that they saw Turner shoot someone. 

"But in fact, in my reading of it, it seems that I think at the end of the day we can show he was innocent," said Perry.  

He repeated earlier statements that the prosecution relies on allegations from another reported conspirator, convicted murderer Jimmie Martin.

Must serve more than five years in prison 

Turner will have to serve 35% of the sentence for possession of a shotgun, the judge said.

That’s five years, seven months and six days, the judge said in an interview, but the exact release date will depend on credit and a parole hearing, and might come sooner or later than that. The judge said that given Turner's prior criminal convictions, he does not believe he will make parole at his first hearing.

Turner showed little reaction to the sentence and didn't speak during the hearing, other than to answer a judge's question with "no sir."

The judge could have sentenced Turner to 20 years, but gave Turner credit for pleading guilty and avoiding the expense of a trial. The 16-year sentence was more than the sentence at the low end of the guidelines that his defense requested: 12 years.

"We're pleased with the sentence," prosecutor Paul Hagerman said. 

The prosecution recently told the defense about new evidence in the case. Hagerman said he can't comment on the evidence.

Perry said he doesn't know what the evidence is, but will meet with the prosecution to review it. A new report date related to this matter is scheduled for Aug. 22.

Thursday's hearing

The hearing began shortly before noon Thursday. Memphis Police Sgt. Brian Beasley testified about the weapons found in Turner's home during a search in 2017. He said officers found a loaded shotgun propped in the corner of a closet as well as an unloaded pistol in a purse. He showed the court pictures of the items found in the home, as well as pictures of shotgun shells found in the trunk of an old, badly damaged vehicle that had belonged to Turner and had been left in a field for years. 

Another gun charge related to a pistol found in Turner's house was dropped earlier this summer. An officer testified Thursday the weapon was found in a woman's purse.

A third gun charge is still pending. Turner's defense lawyer said that if he is convicted of shooting Lorenzen Wright, he will be charged with having possessed a weapon at the time.

Thursday marked the first major court appearance in the Lorenzen Wright case since July 25, when Turner's co-defendant, Sherra Wright, the ex-wife of the NBA player, entered an unexpected guilty plea to lesser charges. 

Turner, 48, is charged with first-degree murder related to the 2010 shooting death of Wright in the Memphis area and attempted first-degree murder related to an earlier attempt to kill Wright in Atlanta. He also faces a conspiracy charge.

Lorenzen Wright was a star player for the University of Memphis and also played for NBA teams including the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.

He disappeared in the summer of 2010. He appears to have called 911 from a cell phone from a field near the TPC Southwind golf course minutes after midnight on July 19, 2010. Days later, his body was discovered in the area. The 34-year-old had been shot several times.

The killing was one of the highest-profile homicides in recent Memphis history, and for years, it was unsolved. A break came in the case in late 2017 with the arrests of Turner and Sherra Wright.

Possession of a shotgun

Authorities charged Turner with possession of guns after arresting him in connection to Lorenzen Wright's murder. His status as a convicted felon meant he wasn't supposed to have guns at all.

Turner had a felony criminal record dating from the early 1990s, when he had pleaded guilty to offenses including possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, according to court records. 

He had also pleaded guilty to several counts including attempted kidnapping related to a December 1992 incident in which he allegedly pointed a gun at his ex-girlfriend and tried to pull her into a vehicle, then pointed a gun at the ex-girlfriend's brother when he tried to intervene, according to court records.

Turner, a longtime Collierville resident, had appeared to put his criminal past behind him. Before the 2017 murder arrest, he hadn't faced a serious criminal charge for years and was known locally as a church deacon and owner of a small landscaping business.

On June 17 of this year, Turner entered a guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a shotgun, leading to Thursday's sentencing.

Prosecution's theory of the case was revealed in May 2018: a conspiracy of three

At a May 2018 bond hearing for Turner, prosecutor Paul Hagerman outlined the government's theory of the Lorenzen Wright homicide.

At that hearing, Hagerman named a previously unidentified alleged co-conspirator: Jimmie Martin, who is currently locked up in a state prison following a 2012 conviction for killing his girlfriend. 

Hagerman said Martin is a cousin of Sherra Wright, and Martin had come forward with information in 2012. He helped lead authorities to the Mississippi lake where a pistol used in the killing had been dumped. He described seeing Turner throw the gun into the water. 

Martin also described working with Turner an attempt to kill Lorenzen Wright in Atlanta, and helping Sherra Wright and Turner clean up the field where Lorenzen Wright was found. 

At that May 2018 hearing, the prosecutor also pointed to a motive. According to a witness, Turner and Sherra Wright were in a sexual relationship. And he mentioned that Sherra Wright had collected $1 million in insurance money following her ex-husband's death.

The prosecutor said authorities got court approval to set up electronic surveillance on Sherra Wright and Billy Turner's cell phones on Nov. 7, 2017. Two days later, information about the discovery of the gun in the Mississippi lake was released to the news media.

Once the news broke, authorities picked up communication about the finding between Sherra Wright and Turner, the prosecutor said.

On Nov. 11, Wright even flew from her new home in California back to Memphis, where she later met Turner, and investigators took covert photos of the meeting. 

Defense attorney said Jimmie Martin is a liar

At that May 2018 hearing, defense attorney John Keith Perry called Martin "this convicted murderer, who lies time and time again."

At that hearing, the judge concluded the weapons possession proved that Billy Turner is an ongoing danger to the public. He said he believed no bond should be set, but the law required him to set one, so he set an impossibly high amount: $15 million.

Turner has remained in jail awaiting trial since then.

On Thursday, the defense attorney once again attacked Martin as an unreliable convicted murderer.

Sherra Wright's guilty plea

At a hurriedly scheduled hearing on July 25, Sherra Wright entered a guilty plea to  facilitation to commit first-degree murder and facilitation to commit attempted first-degree murder. 

In so doing, she avoided a first-degree murder conviction and a life sentence. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but will only have to serve 30% of it, or nine years. With credit for time already served in jail, she might be released in roughly seven years.

The exact time of release will depend on the results of a parole hearing. Lorenzen Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, has said she will work to keep Sherra Wright in prison as long as possible. 

Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.