What started as an effort to arrest one man at a Memphis hotel quickly turned into a much larger investigation involving stolen chicken, firearms, drugs, and more than a dozen suspects.
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According to the U.S. Marshals Service, members of the Memphis Safe Task Force went to the 3800 block of Lamar Avenue on September 15 while executing an aggravated robbery warrant for 33-year-old Javunte Johnson. Authorities said they found Johnson with 12 other people unloading pallets of chicken from an 18-wheeler behind a hotel. The federal agency valued the chicken at approximately $250,000.The unusual Memphis chicken theft unfolded at the Economy Inn at 3896 Lamar Avenue, according to the Memphis Police Department. MPD said its Fugitive Unit arrived around 9 a.m. after receiving information that Johnson, who was wanted in connection with an aggravated robbery case, was at the property. Officers took Johnson into custody behind the business before noticing roughly a dozen other people unloading boxes from a semi-trailer nearby.
MPD said investigators determined the merchandise being unloaded was stolen. During the investigation, detectives reported recovering three firearms, approximately $110,000 worth of stolen merchandise, fentanyl, and cocaine. The $110,000 figure in the MPD release differs from the $250,000 valuation the U.S. Marshals Service placed specifically on the stolen chicken load.
Authorities also differ slightly on the arrest total. The U.S. Marshals Service release says Johnson was found with 12 other people and that all 13 were arrested after members of the group attempted to flee. MPD, however, publicly identified 12 people in its own release. Neither agency’s published account explains the difference in those totals.
The Memphis chicken theft investigation resulted in several serious charges. Johnson was charged with aggravated robbery, theft of property valued from $60,000 to $250,000, and convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
Police said Robert Wilson, 56, was charged with theft of property valued from $60,000 to $250,000 and evading arrest in a vehicle. Quantrivious Shavers, 25, faces the same theft charge, along with convicted felon in possession of a handgun and possession of fentanyl with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell. Samuel Jackson, 38, was charged with theft and possession of cocaine with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell.
MPD also identified John Shipp, 47, Rico Jackson, 36, Devean Hoyle, 45, Trashawn Featherson, 35, and Robert Dishmon, 40, as facing theft charges involving property valued from $60,000 to $250,000. Marcellous McKinney, 38, was charged with theft and evading arrest in a vehicle. Jessie Moore, 37, was charged with convicted felon in possession of a handgun and evading arrest on foot. Alexis Pike, 21, was charged with evading arrest on foot and two counts of theft involving property valued at less than $1,000.
Additional reporting has offered a possible explanation for how the massive chicken shipment ended up behind the hotel. Investigators identified Wilson as the truck driver. Wilson told police he was trading the load to settle a drug debt he allegedly owed to another man who was arrested. Investigators also contacted Wilson’s employer and the company that had hired the employer to transport the shipment, according to that report.
Under Tennessee’s theft statute, property valued from $60,000 to less than $250,000 falls within the state’s Class B felony theft category, while property valued at $250,000 or more falls into the Class A felony category. The individual charges announced by MPD in the Memphis chicken theft case list the lower $60,000 to $250,000 charging range for most of the defendants accused of theft.
The arrests were carried out through the Memphis Safe Task Force, which the U.S. Marshals Service describes as a coordinated operation involving federal, state, and local law enforcement, along with mobilized members of the Tennessee National Guard. The agency says the initiative was established through a memorandum signed by Donald Trump on September 15, 2025, with a stated focus on violent crime, outstanding warrants, illegal firearms, and missing children.
For now, the Memphis chicken theft case remains defined by two official accounts that agree on the central allegation: officers looking for one wanted man instead discovered a group unloading a stolen commercial shipment behind a hotel, leading to multiple arrests and the recovery of firearms, drugs, and merchandise.
