CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Clarksville couple was charged in connection to a murder in Memphis and was later arrested while attempting to steal a yacht in San Diego.
According to Shelby County court records obtained by Clarksville Now, Juamark Ryans, 25, and his girlfriend, Kiawana Haynes, 20, were indicted during the March 2021 grand jury term.
They have been charged in connection to the death of Ryans’ 63-year-old grandmother, Bessie Lee Williams, who was found beaten and stabbed to death in her Memphis apartment on Feb. 22.
According to a news release from Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich shared on Wednesday, Ryans and Haynes were both arrested on Feb. 28, six days later at a marina in San Diego where they tried to steal a 56-foot yacht.
In San Diego, Ryans said his name was Miguel Williams and that the yacht belonged to a wealthy uncle, the news release said.
San Diego police were called to the marina when the yacht Ryans was trying to steal struck the rocks in the jetty, which damaged the ship’s hull and propeller, according to the news release.
In San Diego, Ryans pled guilty to theft of property over $10,000, according to the Shelby County District Attorney General.
Ryans was indicted on first-degree murder charges stemming from his grandmother’s death, and was extradited to Memphis on Tuesday.
Haynes was indicted on a felony count of facilitation of first-degree murder and theft of less that $1,000. She is being held at the Shelby County Women’s Jail East in Memphis, the news release said.
Ryans and Haynes were staying with Ryans’ grandmother at the time of her death, and her car was recovered at the marina in San Diego after the couple’s arrest on Feb. 28, according to the release.
The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Alanda Dwyer of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit 7 which seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders in Criminal Court Division 7.