MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Sometimes bad things happen to good people, which describes what happened to Marion Wood. The 91-year old Orange Mound homeowner was robbed and shot in the face on Thursday, September 20. It was a heartless crime.
Amazingly, Wood was released from the hospital on Friday, September 28. By Monday, police announced charges against 20-year-old Nicholas Ellis, much to the relief of Wood’s neighbors.
“Ninety one years old,” said Jeffery Barnes, who lives next door to Wood, “doesn’t anybody need to be bothering anybody like that.”
But according to charges released by Memphis Police, that is exactly what Ellis did, robbing and shooting Marion Wood. And according to neighbors, that’s not all.
“The police said he’d been robbing people up and down this street,” said Winnie Howard, “when my old man and I were sitting outside one Sunday morning, he went past us- running.”
Even before he was shot, Wood had words of caution for his neighbors.
“He told us to watch our backs,” Barnes told abc24.com, “because he didn’t know what was going on.”
A police affidavit said Ellis came in through an unlocked door, got into a struggle with Wood, and then shot him before stealing $3,000.
After an arrest on an un-related robbery, Ellis confessed to the shooting.
Wood kept to himself, but Barnes and Howard said they bonded with the 91-year old when they moved in next door in July. Since the shooting incident, they’ve been watching his house.
“He always told us to check on him.” Barnes told abc24.com.
Now, the couple is getting help.
“Police been going over there checking every night and every morning,” said Howard. “I felt real bad because he didn’t mess with anybody.”
Now that Wood has been released from the hospital, Barnes is anxious.
“I’d like to see him, I’m ready for him to come home,” said Barnes, “he’s a really nice guy.”
Nicholas Ellis is charged with Especially Aggravated Burglary, Especially Aggravated Robbery and Employment of a Firearm during a Dangerous Felony. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail on $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court October 4.
