Teen accused of bringing guns to high school arrested for third time since June

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A 19-year-old man arrested and accused of bringing a loaded gun onto the Hamilton High School campus was arrested again a few days later for robbery. Why was he released from prison when court records show he poses a threat to public safety?

Javarious Sistrunk has entered the revolving door of 201 Poplar three times in three months. The first arrest took place in June. The second arrest took place last week. The third arrest took place on Monday.

Hamilton High students are praising campus cops and Memphis police for quickly arresting Sistrunk on Sept. 25 after MPD says he was caught on school property with a stolen, loaded gun.

“Everybody started running and stuff like that,” freshman Markel Sallis Jr. said, “but they caught up with him at the end of the parking lot.”

Shelby County court records show Commissioner of Police Zayid Saleem set bail at $30,000 and noted on a bail review form: “The defendant poses a threat to public safety.”

This was Sistrunk’s second arrest. The first was in June, when he was charged with stealing tools and released from prison.

Records show that despite the re-arrest, Judge Ronald Lucchesi released Sistrunk on his own recognizance – meaning no bond was required – on a gun charge in Hamilton.

But MPD will see him again soon. On Monday morning around 9 a.m., a woman was walking to a store along South Parkway in Worthington when she said three young men approached her and robbed her at gunpoint.

A Memphis Police report says they took the victim’s purse and cell phone. The description she gave police of one of the suspects matched Javarious Sistrunk.

Witnesses told police they saw three suspects enter the Dollar General on Lamar Avenue. When MPD arrived, they said they found the suspects standing around the ATM. They said they identified Sistrunk by the clothes he was wearing, which matched what the victim told investigators.

The arrest report also indicated that MPD found the victim’s cell phone in the trash next to an ATM and two guns hidden behind merchandise in the store.

Court documents show that on Tuesday, October 1, Court Commissioner Kevin Reed set bail at $80,000 for Sistrunk, noting on a bail review form that he had been charged with a crime while out on bail for a previous offense.

Back at Hamilton High, freshman Markel Sallis Jr., sophomore Elijah Hodges and senior Ashton Dotson said staff at their school takes safety seriously.

“They check the metal detector every day,” Sallis Jr. said.

“Safety is maintained throughout the school,” Hodge said. “They’re everywhere.”

Dotson added: “Everywhere you go you will see security and there are monitors everywhere in the lobby.”

Hamilton parents like Ed Collins told Action News 5 that courts should actively protect students, especially when deciding who gets released from the county jail.

“Man, this is crazy! This is madness!” said Collins: “All I can say is this is crazy. He shouldn’t even be released from prison. I mean, he shouldn’t have been released from prison at all.

A recent report on Shelby County’s bail system found that there has been an increase in the number of defendants who have been released on their own recognizance since the implementation of bail reform in 2023. The number of re-arrests in criminal cases has also increased.

At last check late Tuesday evening, Javarious Sistrunk was still behind bars at the Shelby County Jail.

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