Tennessee truck driver charged with murder in death of Mississippi man shot in face at furniture store

Published 8:30 am Friday, August 23, 2019

Prosecutors say a Tennessee truck driver has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting of a freight dock manager at a furniture store.

Shelby County prosecutors said Thursday that 53-year-old Timothy Saunders is being held without bond on criminal court charges in the May slaying of 41-year-old Thomas Hartman.

Authorities say Hartman and Saunders got into an argument at American Freight Liquidators on U.S. Highway 64 in Memphis. Court documents say Saunders left the store’s warehouse, then returned with a pistol and shot Hartman in the face.

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Hartman, of Nesbit, Mississippi, died at the scene. Saunders was arrested after driving off in his truck.

A public defender had been assigned to Saunders’ case in general sessions court. She could not be reached for comment after hours Thursday.