The ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright has been arrested in California in his death and charged with conspiracy, first-degree murder and criminal attempt first degree murder, Memphis police Director Michael Rallings said in announcing the charges Saturday.
The attempted murder charge is about a prior attempt to kill Lorenzen Wright, officials confirmed. They said Sherra and Billy Turner previously tried to kill Wright.
Memphis Police Major Darren Goods, of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit, said last May or early June the gang unit received information about the case.
"We looked through this case and we did one thing, we followed the evidence and the evidence led us to Billy Turner and Sherra Wright," Goods said. "We wanted to investigate it as if it had just happened. We went to the crime scene and walked in Lorenzen's final steps."
He said they called the investigation "Operation Rebound."
"We coined this case 'Operation Rebound' and the basketball connection is undeniable," Goods said. "Lorenzen Wright was a homegrown young man. He played basketball in this city, came back to play professional basketball in this city and he lost his life in this city."
Goods added, "In basketball a rebound gives you a chance to win the game. This will give us a second chance to bring closure to this case and give the grieiving family some relief."
Goods said they joined forces with Collierville Police Department and the FBI on the investigation into the murder case.
The case grew stronger when the FBI dive team searched a lake in Walnut, Miss. and found a gun authorities said was used in Lorenzen Wright's murder.
"It was one of the murder weapons," Goods said during the 9 a.m. press conference.
Authorities would not reveal any information about the relationship between Sherra Wright and Turner. The Commercial Appeal previously reported that the two attended the same church, Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church No. 1 in Collierville.
"We are comfortable in saying that they knew each other and we will leave it right there," said Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said they are working on the extradition to bring Sherra Wright back to Memphis, but did not have a timetable for when that would happen.
Sherra Wright has a court date scheduled on Monday in Riverside, California, according to jail records.
The arrest came after the Dec. 5 indictment of Billy R. Turner in the former basketball player's death. He is being held without bond and he is due back in court Jan. 29 in Judge Lee Coffee's court in Memphis.
The indictment explains the charge of previously trying to kill Wright. Turner and Sherra Wright are accused of trying to kill Lorenzen Wright between April and July 2010 in an attempt that included getting guns, recruiting a co-conspirator and "on the part of Turner, travelled to Lorenzen Wright’s home outside of Atlanta to commit the offense," according to the Shelby County DA's Office. Sherra Wright and Turner are also charged "in furtherance of the conspiracy" with traveling to the area of Callis Cut and Hacks Cross Road to kill Wright.
The body of Lorenzen Wright, 34, was found badly decomposed in southeast Memphis in July 2010, and investigators found evidence of shell casings from different calibers at the scene. He apparently called 911 shortly after midnight on July 19, 2010, from a field near TPC Southwind golf course. At least five gunshot wounds were documented in an autopsy.
Major Darren Goods, Operations Commander for the Multi-Agency Gang Unit, speaks during a press conference about the arrest of Sherra Wright, the ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal
“Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! They got her! They got her!’’ Lorenzen Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion, said Friday. “They need to bury her.’’
Marion said said got a call from Memphis police about 10 p.m. Friday and went down with her family to police headquarters.
“It’s just those two right now,’’ Marion said. “But they’re still working on it.’’
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said Sherra Wright was booked Friday night.
"She was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on a fugitive warrant for murder," Deputy Mike Vasquez said.
Marion said she believes her former daughter-in-law was motivated by money, specifically a $1 million life insurance policy held by Lorenzen Wright.
A man has been arrested and charged with murder of Lorenzen Wright, here's what we know Video by Michael Schwab/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
In a 2015 article in The Commercial Appeal, Sherra Wright explained how she inquired early in the investigation if she was a suspect.
“They was like, no, you know," she said. "It was just kind of a person of interest. They said that the list was long and wide and they didn’t have any real suspects, if you want to quote that.’’
Records showed that on August 1, 2010, Memphis police searched her home and found burned pieces of metal and a letter addressed to her and Lorenzen Wright, but law enforcement at that time did not say what the items meant to investigators.
In 2014, Sherra Wright agreed to a confidential settlement in a dispute in Circuit Court over how she spent $1 million in insurance meant to benefit their six children.
In November, police announced that a gun police believe to be the weapon used in Lorenzen Wright's killing had been recovered. Memphis police located the gun in a Walnut, Mississippi, lake on County Road 302 about 50 miles east of Olive Branch.
"The weapon was key," Rallings said.
Law enforcement authorities discuss the arrest of Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife in California and announce murder and conspiracy charges.
More: Links emerge between Lorenzen Wright murder suspect Billy R. Turner and Wright family
Turner, 46, was indicted and arrested the following month on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder in Wright's death.
The Multi Agency Gang Unit saw him leave a house in the 4700 block of Waterfront Oak Drive, which is listed as his residence in an arrest report, get into a vehicle and travel to the Collierville Express Mart on U.S. 72. He was then arrested.
According to the arrest report, witnesses identified him "as the person responsible for the murder."
More: Where is Sherra? Lorenzen Wright's family wants answers from ex-wife
Turner has convictions from the 1990s for theft, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, attempted aggravated assault, attempted kidnapping, a cocaine charge and burglary.
Wright's body wasn't found until days after the 911 call. After Germantown dispatchers got the call, they didn't notify officers because the location could not be pinpointed. The location was actually in Memphis. Eight days later, investigators were notified and cell towers were used to help locate his body.
Rallings said the case remains an ongoing investigation and anyone that has any information about the case they urge them to come forward.
The Commercial Appeal reporter Jennifer Pignolet contributed to the report.
Surveillance video from Collierville Express Mart shows the arrest of Billy Ray Turner, a suspect in the death of NBA player and Memphis native Lorenzen Wright. Linda Moore/The Commercial Appeal
Memphis police: Gun suspected in Lorenzen Wright case recovered in Mississippi lake