Memphis Police officer Sean Bolton’s casket is carried by a horse drawn carriage at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery after his funeral Thursday, August 6, 2015, in Memphis. The officer also reportedly told Wilbourn to put his hands up, which he claims he was unable to do because he was being held. Bolton approached the auto and Wilbourn got out, confronted Bolton, and they got into a physical struggle, police said.
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Callie Watkins, 28, advised The Associated Press on Wednesday that her brother, 29-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn, advised her throughout a telephone dialog after the capturing however earlier than his arrest that he was forcibly pulled out of a auto by Officer Sean Bolton on Saturday night time.
A spokeswoman for the Memphis Police Department declined to comment on Watkins’ allegations but noted that the evidence will speak to what happened that evening. A memorial service was scheduled for Wednesday. He turned himself in to authorities on Monday, ending a two-day manhunt. A “Sea of Blue” procession of police officers was to ride through parts of the city, including the shooting scene, after the memorial.
Twenty-nine-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn appeared via video link from jail Wednesday morning. Wilbourn’s lawyer argued during sentencing that he was persuaded by his uncle to join the robbery to help him with his finances and “he was awaiting news regarding a possible college scholarship based on his athletic ability”.
However, Wilbourn was let out of prison last July and placed on three years of supervised release. He used marijuana in December and was ordered to undergo mental health treatment July 7, according to federal court documents released Monday.
It’s not clear whether Wilbourn was ever evaluated, but his sister said her brother was troubled because he “lived in a box” for so long. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Officer Sean Bolton. Wilbourn answered that he did not.
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A hearing is scheduled for August. 12 to find out if Wilbourn has found an attorney; if he has not, he will be appointed a public defender. He’s being held on $10 million bond.
