3 suspects arrested after ‘Free Karmelo’ assault that injured East Texas woman
Three women face charges after allegedly beating up another woman outside an East Texas nightclub in a June 21 attack that appeared to reference Karmelo Anthony, court documents state.
Alana Mumphrey, Ciarrianne Fuller and Dejae Brown were booked into the Gregg County Jail but have since bonded out, according to jail records. The three suspects — all 21 years old — have been charged with assault causing bodily injury.
A security guard at the Longview bar Whiskey J’s told police a large crowd started gathering in the parking lot before the early morning incident. He heard someone say, “The next white (expletive) that walks out, I’m going to hit her,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
A short time later, a woman exited the nightclub and was attacked by several people. They were from the same crowd that had made the threatening statement, according to guard’s testimony in the affidavit. The guard said he intervened and helped the woman get to safety.
The victim was injured in the right eye and the back of her head. She told authorities she didn’t know her attackers and hadn’t had problems with anyone inside the bar. She remembered that one of the suspects was wearing an orange wig, the affidavit states.
A witness who left the nightclub with the victim reportedly heard a woman say, “Any white girl can get it” and “Free Karmelo” before the assault started, according to the affidavit.
The reference to “Karmelo” likely refers to Karmelo Anthony, whom a jury in Collin County sentenced to 35 years in prison on June 9. The 19-year-old, whose attorneys argued self-defense and are appealing his conviction, was found guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a North Texas high school track meet. Metcalf was white and Anthony is Black. The case has stirred racial tensions at protests and on social media.
After the June 21 assault, the injured Longview woman gave police two Instagram handles believed to be tied to the suspects. Authorities traced the handles and identified Fuller and Brown, the affidavit states. In a further interview that night, the victim named Fuller, Brown and Mumphrey as the assailants.
Fuller was arrested June 23. Investigators obtained a search warrant for her cellphone and found a text thread between the suspect and two other people. According to the affidavit, the two contacts were later identified as Brown and Mumphrey.
Mumphrey started the thread with a screenshot of a social media post about the assault, and the three began talking about how someone wanted to fight them over the incident. Brown then says that, “We gotta get our story straight,” the affidavit states.
Mumphrey and Dejae Brown voluntarily turned themselves in on June 25, according to KLTV reporting.
LaDarian Brown, a spokesperson for the Longview Police Department, said at a June 24 news conference that the assault is under investigation, and detectives have been in touch with the FBI.
He also acknowledged that the incident had sparked concern in the community, and the department was aware of social media posts mentioning retaliation.
“We cannot allow rumors to outrun facts,” Brown said, “and we cannot allow fear to do more damage than the incident itself.”
He encouraged members of the community to stay calm and alert and “remain committed to the facts.”
