A federal-local task force arrested 13 people after catching them unloading a stolen $250,000 shipment of chicken from a tractor-trailer behind a Memphis hotel, uncovering guns and drugs in the process.
The Memphis Safe Task Force, which combines U.S. Marshals, Memphis police, state troopers and Tennessee National Guard members, was serving an aggravated robbery warrant on Javunte Johnson, 33, Tuesday when officers found him and 12 others pulling pallets of poultry off an 18-wheeler in the parking lot of an Economy Inn on Lamar Avenue, according to the Marshals Service.
The group scattered but was fully rounded up, the task force said, describing the operation as reflecting a “sustained commitment to reducing violent crime and removing dangerous weapons from Memphis neighborhoods.”
Detectives determined the merchandise being unloaded had been stolen and recovered three handguns and quantities of fentanyl and cocaine. Memphis police put the value of the stolen merchandise at approximately $110,000, WMC Action News 5 reported.
Memphis police filed a dozen sets of charges. Mr. Johnson faces the aggravated robbery count along with theft of property and felon-in-possession charges. Quantrivious Shavers, 25, was charged with theft, felon-in-possession and intent to distribute fentanyl. Mr. Shavers and Jessie Moore, 37, were both accused of possessing a handgun as convicted felons; Mr. Moore was additionally charged with evading arrest by foot pursuit. Samuel Jackson, 38, was charged with theft and intent to distribute cocaine.
Seven additional defendants — Robert Wilson, 56; John Shipp, 47; Rico Jackson, 36; Devean Hoyle, 45; Trashawn Featherson, 35; Robert Dishmon, 40; and Marcellous McKinney, 38 — face theft counts ranging from $60,000 to $250,000. Mr. Wilson and Mr. McKinney were also charged with evading arrest by vehicle. Alexis Pike, 21, was charged with two counts of theft under $1,000 and with evading arrest by foot pursuit.
Tuesday’s chicken bust was one of 49 arrests the task force made that day alone, bringing its total to 12,796 arrests and 2,163 illegal firearms seized since President Trump created the unit through a September 2025 memorandum, the Marshals Service said.
The task force marked its first anniversary this month amid a separate dispute between supporters of the operation and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy over prosecutorial oversight of task force cases.
The unit has also drawn friction with some Memphis businesses. In July, a Midtown pizza restaurant owner refused service to four uniformed Guardsmen, citing his opposition to the task force’s presence in the city.
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