Police said an argument over a 2015 Lincoln MKC ended with a tow-truck employee wounded in the shoulder.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 26-year-old Memphis woman was charged with aggravated assault after police said she shot a tow-truck worker who had arrived before dawn to repossess her vehicle, ending an encounter that began with a request to remove personal belongings and escalated within minutes.

Iysha Chapman was arrested after the June 24 confrontation on Treadwell Street, according to an affidavit of complaint described in court-based news reports. The document says two employees of a towing and recovery company went to the address at about 3:45 a.m. with a repossession order for a 2015 Lincoln MKC. One of the workers was struck in the shoulder by a single gunshot but was able to leave the property with his co-worker and seek help. Chapman was held on a $150,000 bond after being booked into the Shelby County jail, according to the reports.

The affidavit presents the incident as a fast-moving dispute that changed sharply after the workers began preparing to remove the vehicle. One employee told investigators that Chapman came outside and asked to retrieve items from the Lincoln. The workers allowed her to do so and told her that any disagreement about the repossession would have to be addressed with the lien holder. That part of the encounter appeared to proceed without violence. The conflict grew when a worker asked Chapman to return the vehicle’s keys and she refused, according to the affidavit.

Chapman allegedly told the workers, “You all will have to drag it.” One of the employees then got into the tow truck and prepared to remove the Lincoln without the keys, the complaint says. While he was in the truck, he told police that he heard Chapman threaten to kill them. A gunshot followed, and the second employee, who remained outside the tow truck, was hit in the shoulder. The affidavit does not identify either worker by name, and the reports reviewed for this article do not provide a detailed medical update beyond describing the injury as noncritical.

The wounded employee got into the truck, and the two workers drove away before calling 911, according to the complaint. Their decision to leave meant officers arrived at the Treadwell Street property after the tow-truck crew had moved to safety. Police then spoke with Chapman about what had happened. The affidavit says she acknowledged firing the shot, though her description included an allegation that one of the workers had physically stopped her as she tried to enter the Lincoln. No independent account of that physical contact was included in the available reports. Chapman told officers that she had missed a vehicle payment on the Monday before the repossession but believed she had a five-day grace period, according to the complaint. She said she came outside, saw the Lincoln being towed and tried to get into it so she could drive away. Chapman claimed one of the tow-truck workers pushed her back and prevented her from entering. She said she “felt helpless,” reached into her purse, took out a firearm and fired once, striking the employee in the shoulder, the affidavit says.

Those statements are allegations recorded during the police investigation and have not been tested at trial. The available materials do not establish whether the financing agreement contained a grace period, whether Chapman had received a repossession notice or whether the workers knew she expected more time to make the payment. They also do not resolve the differing descriptions of the moments before the shot. The complaint records both the workers’ account and Chapman’s statement, but a criminal court would be responsible for weighing the evidence if the case proceeds.

Investigators later obtained a search warrant for the property and recovered a teal .380-caliber Glock handgun containing five live rounds, according to the affidavit. The reported recovery provided police with a firearm they believed was connected to the shooting, but the publicly available accounts do not describe any completed ballistic testing or other laboratory findings. The complaint also says the wounded employee was shown a six-person photographic lineup and identified Chapman as the person who shot him.

The identification, Chapman’s reported statement and the recovered gun formed key parts of the probable-cause account supporting her arrest. Probable cause is the standard used at the beginning of a criminal case and does not amount to a finding of guilt. Prosecutors would still have to prove any charge beyond a reasonable doubt, and Chapman would be entitled to challenge the evidence, question witnesses and present a defense. The reviewed reports did not identify an attorney speaking on her behalf or include a plea entered in court.

The aggravated-assault charge reflects the allegation that a firearm was used and another person was injured. Tennessee’s aggravated-assault law can apply when an assault involves a deadly weapon or results in serious bodily injury, although the precise classification and potential punishment depend on the charged subsection and the facts established in court. The available reporting identifies the charge generally but does not reproduce the full charging instrument or specify every statutory element prosecutors intend to pursue.

The repossession itself also carries a separate civil-law framework that does not decide the criminal allegation. Tennessee law permits a secured creditor to take possession of collateral after a default, either through judicial proceedings or without a court order when the recovery can be completed without a breach of the peace. The law does not define every possible confrontation in the statute, and disputes over whether conduct crossed that line can depend on the facts. Nothing in the available record shows that a court had ruled on the lawfulness of this particular repossession.

That distinction matters because a disagreement about a missed payment or a recovery worker’s conduct does not by itself establish whether a criminal assault occurred. The financing dispute concerns the creditor’s contractual and property rights. The criminal case concerns the alleged threat, the gunshot and the injury. Chapman’s belief that she had a grace period may explain why she objected to the tow, but the available court account does not show that the belief had been confirmed by the creditor or that it authorized the use of force.

The hour and setting shaped the sequence described by investigators. The tow-truck employees arrived while it was still dark, at an address where Chapman was staying, and began carrying out a repossession order before many residents would ordinarily be awake. The complaint indicates that the workers did not immediately take the Lincoln after Chapman appeared. They first allowed her to remove personal property and directed her to contact the lien holder. The confrontation developed only after the keys were requested and the vehicle was prepared for removal.

The worker’s injury did not prevent him from leaving the scene, but the shooting turned a private financial dispute into a felony investigation. Police sought a warrant, collected a weapon, interviewed Chapman and arranged the photographic identification. Those steps helped establish the account later summarized in the affidavit. The reports do not say whether officers recovered a spent cartridge, obtained surveillance footage, interviewed neighbors or examined the Lincoln and tow truck for physical evidence.

Several issues therefore remain unresolved in the public record, including the exact nature of the alleged push, the positions of the people when the shot was fired and whether any additional video or witness evidence exists. It is also unclear whether prosecutors later amended the charge, presented the case to a grand jury or obtained a new bond ruling. The lack of a reported update does not indicate that the case was dismissed or resolved; it means only that no later reliable development was located among the sources consulted for this article.

Chapman’s case remained publicly described in the reviewed reports as an aggravated-assault prosecution arising from the Treadwell Street shooting. The tow-truck worker’s name had not been released in those accounts, and no later statement about his recovery was found. Chapman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Author note: Last updated July 26, 2026.